James, Irving lead Cavs over Suns
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James and Kyrie Irving celebrated being named Eastern Conference All-Star starters the only way they know how: They shined in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 118-103 victory Thursday against the Phoenix Suns.
James scored 21 points, matched his season-high with 15 assists and grabbed nine rebounds to fall one shy of a triple-double in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 118-103 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points for the Cavs on the night both he and James were named All-Star starters in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs broke out of a rare shooting funk Thursday and won for just the second time in their last five games.
The Suns' Tyson Chandler scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds after missing one game with stomach problems. Eric Bledsoe scored 22 points and passed for nine assists, while Devin Booker had 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Suns, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
The Cavs led by 21 late in the first half and were never really threatened by a Suns team with the worst record in the Western Conference.
Kevin Love missed the game with a sore back. Love was considered a game-time decision after he missed the second half of Monday's blowout loss to Golden State. He didn't believe he'd miss any time, but he didn't participate in contact drills during Wednesday's practice and then couldn't make it through Thursday's morning shootaround.
James Jones started in place of Love and scored 14 points, one shy of his season high. The Cavs aren't yet concerned about Love, believing rest is all he needs. It's the fifth game Love has missed this season and he would seem to be questionable for Saturday's big home game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Cavs broke out of their shooting funk to make 19 3-pointers and shoot 44 percent from deep Thursday. They only committed 12 turnovers while passing for 29 assists, two shy of their season high.
NOTES -- LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were named Eastern Conference starters for the All-Star game, to be held Feb. 19 in New Orleans. It is Irving's second start and fourth All-Star appearance in six years, while James will become the fifth player in NBA history to appear in at least 13 All-Star games. James led all players in fan voting. ... James Jones' start Thursday in place of the injured Kevin Love was his first since April 2, 2015. ... Suns coach Earl Watson leased Kyle Korver's condo in Utah after Watson joined the Jazz for the 2010-11 season. Korver played for Utah from 2007-10. "We go back," Watson joked. "I sent him a lot of money every month. I'm glad I don't do that anymore." ... Suns G Devin Booker (20.4 ppg) began the night averaging 30 points over his last six games.