Basisphilosophie » keeping the ball down today

Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Love scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in his first game against his former team, as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 125-104, at Quicken Loans Arena. The win may have been costly for the Cavaliers, who lost center Anderson Varejao to a left foot and ankle injury in the third quarter. Varejao is expected to undergo an MRI on his foot Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury. Love also exited the contest earlier in the third due to a thumb injury, but returned later in the period. It scared me initially. I had jammed it pretty bad during the Brooklyn game and in practice put it in tape the next day, so I was fortunate that I was able to, I guess, get shots up and some practice time with the tape on, Love said. We came back here and it seems to be just a mild, little thing. I shook it off and went back in there and played. Kyrie Irving scored 29 and LeBron James totaled 24 points for the Cavaliers, who have won three in a row and 12 of their last 15 games. That includes nine wins in their last 10 at home. Love, who played his first six NBA seasons for the Timberwolves, was dealt to Cleveland as part of a 3-team deal in the offseason. Minnesota acquired Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, the last two No. 1 overall picks in the draft. Wiggins scored 27 and Gorgui Dieng had a season-best 20 to go with 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost six in a row and 12 of their last 13 games to fall to 5-22 on the season. Before the game even started when we were in the locker room, it was just a different atmosphere, Wiggins said. Emotions were a lot higher than they usually are. I think its obvious this is a motivation game for me. Bennett missed all four of his shots from the field and was held without a point. Irving scored 11 points during the pivotal third quarter when the Cavs stretched the lead with a late surge. Thaddeus Young made 1-of-2 free throws to get the visitors within 80-78, but the Cavs responded with a 16-1 run to end the period. James nailed a pull-up 30-foot shot from the top of the arc during the flurry, which was capped by five straight points from Dion Waiters. We got stops, were more physical. When we get stops, were very good offensively. We get rebounds, it allowed us to open up, James said. Cleveland, which scored the initial three points of the fourth, led by double digits throughout the final quarter. We struggled playing from behind because we have a lot of young guys that arent used to doing that, Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. So they have a tendency to get a little bit too anxious, and then we take one or two bad shots and that leads to fast break opportunities. Thats what makes it difficult. The Cavaliers wrapped up a five-game homestand and will play Miami Christmas Day in James first contest against the Heat since leaving them via free agency in the offseason. He won two titles in four finals appearances with Miami. To say I havent thought about going back, Id be lying to you guys, James told reporters after the game. Its going to be great to be back in that building around those unbelievable fans. The memories will definitely come back, being a part of the organization for the four years I was there. When it gets down to it, Im excited about it. Im going to relive a lot of the moments in my head and go from there. Wiggins got off to a hot start with 11 first-quarter points, but Minnesota trailed, 27-26, after 12 minutes. Cleveland led by as many as nine in the second before settling for a 64-56 advantage at the half. The Cavs did not trail in the final two quarters. In a sequence that typified the night for the teams going in opposite directions, Love got the rebound off an Irving missed bank shot and fumbled the ball before managing to get it up and in while being fouled by Bennett. Love completed the 3-point play with 5:13 left in the game for a 114-93 lead. Varejao collapsed under the basket and then had to be helped off the court. He was unable to put any weight on the leg. The injury occurred with 7:24 left in the third quarter. Game Notes The T-wolves are 1-21 when allowing 100 or more points ... Shabazz Muhammad had 18 points and Young 13 for the Timberwolves, while Waiters scored 19 ... The Cavs were 12-of-24 from 3-point range. Nikola Vucevic Jersey . The 42-ranked Czech saved seven break points while converting his one chance, and defeated the No. 3 seed in 1 hour 46 minutes. Rosol, who lost in the final in Stuttgart against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday, awaits the winner between Philipp Kohlschreiber or 2011 champion Gilles Simon. Penny Hardaway Jersey . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-shaquille-o-neal-magic-jersey/ . McCutchen was cut before the series opener against Seattle on Monday night, when Lewis was set for his first start for Texas since July 18, 2012. Texas selected Lewis contract from Triple-A Round Rock. Jonathon Simmons Jersey . "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. Orlando Magic Jerseys . A Swiss Federal Tribunal ruling published Friday said that FIFAs disputes panel and the Court of Arbitration for Sport correctly imposed the sanction for Nantes enticing Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura to break his contract with Dubai club Al Nasr in January 2012.CLEVELAND -- The Indians playoff push hit a snag in Sundays 2-1 loss to the New York Mets. Cleveland managed only five hits -- all singles -- and closer Chris Perez gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth as the Indians four-game winning streak came to an end. The Indians entered Sunday trailing Tampa Bay by a game in the battle for the second wild card spot in the American League. Cleveland was trying for its first five-game winning streak since a season-best eight-game run July 24-Aug. 1, but its offence was stopped cold by five Mets pitchers. The Indians only run came in the sixth when Asdrubal Cabrera was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Cabrera had a chance to put the Indians ahead in the eighth but bounced into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. The Indians had one last shot in the ninth. Jason Giambi led off the inning with a bloop single to left, his 2,000th career hit. With one out, pinch-runner Mike Aviles was thrown out attempting to steal second and ejected by umpire Gary Darling for arguing the call. Drew Stubbs struck out to end the game. "Its something Ill always treasure, but Id trade it for a win," Giambi said of his milestone hit. "We needed to come back and tie it there." The Indians open a three-game series Monday against Kansas City, another contender for a wild card spot. "We took two of three in this series, you have to look at it that way," said pitcher Joe Smith, who worked out a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth. "We come back on the horse tomorrow. We need to take care of business when they come in." While the Indians are in the playoff hunt, they havent caught on with Clevelands fans. With the Browns opening the NFL season at home against Miami, Sundays baseball game drew a crowd of only 13,317. Eric Youngs two-out double in the ninth sent the Indians to defeat. Juan Lagares started the rally with a single off Perez (5-3) and moved to second on a sacrifice. Omar Quintanilla struck out, but Young lined a 2-0 pitch down the right field line. Frank Francisco (1-0), in his first appearance of the season, threw the double play ball to Cabrera. LaTroy Hawkins pitched the ninth for his eighth save. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who spent most of the season pitching for the Indians Triple-A team in Columbus, Ohio, took a one-hit shutout into the sixth before literally being driven out of the game. He retired the first two batters before Jason Kipnis singled and Carlos Santana walked. Jason Kubels line drive backk to the mound appeared to hit Matsuzaka in the chest and rolled away, loading the bases.dddddddddddd Mets manager Terry Collins went to the mound and pulled Matsuzaka for right-hander Vic Black, who hit Cabrera in the lower right leg with his second pitch to force in a run and tie the game. Matsuzaka pitched poorly in his first three starts with the Mets since being signed last month, leading to speculation his days with the team were numbered. He was charged with one run in 5 2-3 innings, which should buy him some extra time with the Mets. "He pitched an outstanding game," Collins said. "Boy, I was really happy for him." Justin Turner hit a leadoff homer in the fourth off Indians starter Danny Salazar, the only run the rookie allowed in four innings. Turner was injured in the sixth while sliding into second base when he took a hard tag in the head from Cabrera. He was on the ground for a couple of minutes but stayed in the game. Salazar struck out eight in three innings, including five in a row, but a high pitch count prevented him from working deeper into the game. He was pulled after throwing 80 pitches. The Indians dont want to take any chances with the 23-year-old right-hander, who had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and has already pitched a career-high 130 innings between the minors and majors. "The good thing was that he was strong, but maybe he was too strong," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He had a real hard time keeping the ball down today. Because of that his pitch count was high. He had a hard time working down today." NOTES: Mets RHP Matt Harvey (elbow) will be examined by Dr. James Andrews to determine if he needs reconstruction surgery. Harvey was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 27 with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. ... OF Michael Brantley could return to the team Monday. His wife, Melissa, gave birth to the couples first child Saturday night. .... Francona said RHP Justin Masterson (strained left oblique) will likely accompany the team on a road trip that begins Thursday in Chicago. Its unclear when Masterson will resume baseball activities. ... Francisco joined the team after being recalled from a rehab assignment from Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday. He had elbow surgery in December. ... RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9) faces Royals; RHP Ervin Santana (8-8). ... The Mets return home to start a four-game series with Washington on Monday. RHP Carlos Torres (3-3) meets LHP Gio Gonzalez (9-6). ' ' '