Lakers fall in Cleveland despite Bryant's 42 points
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Kyrie Irving dropped in 28 points and handed out 11 assists in his return to the hardwood on Tuesday as the Cleveland Cavaliers knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers, 100-94, at Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving saw his first game action since fracturing his left index finger in a Nov. 18 loss at Philadelphia.
"I was just waiting for the doctors to clear me. I'm thankful they did and I got to get back out there tonight," Irving said. "I felt good."
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C.J. Miles buried five three-pointers en route to 28 points, while Anderson Varejao contributed 20 points, nine boards and five assists for the Cavs, who snapped a five-game skid.
Alonzo Gee donated 17 points and five rebounds in the triumph.
Kobe Bryant went off for a game-high 42 points on 16-of-28 shooting to go with five rebounds, while Dwight Howard added 19 points and 20 boards for the free- falling Lakers, who have lost eight of their last 11 games.
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Metta World Peace finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for the visitors, who played without forward Pau Gasol for the fifth consecutive game.
"It's gut-check time. We have to look in the mirror and fix some things," said Lakers forward Antawn Jamison.
A 12-foot jumper by Irving followed by 1-of-2 from the line by Varejao gave the Cavs their largest lead of the night, 57-41, but the home side shot just 5-of-22 from the field in the third quarter which allowed the Lakers to get back into the game.
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Trailing by 12 with 4:20 to play in the stanza, Los Angeles reeled off a 12-3 burst to cut its deficit to 65-62 thanks to a Bryant bucket, but Irving drained a much-needed trey with one-tenth of a second on the clock to give the Cavs a 68-62 lead after three.
A pair of free throws from Howard with 7:36 to play pulled the Lakers within 77-75, but the Cavs answered with five straight points on Irving's three-point play and a Miles jumper to push the margin back to seven with 6:28 left.
Later in the frame, Bryant buried a deep 3-ball with 28.5 on the clock to make it a one-possession game, 95-92, but Varejao and Miles hit clutch free throws down the stretch to help the Cavs hang on for the win.
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It was closely contested for the majority of the opening frame as a quick 11- footer jumper by Bryant produced the quarter's fifth tie at 23-23 with 1:14 to go.
The Cavs, though, scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 29-23 lead into the second session.
Los Angeles began the second quarter with a quick 8-1 spurt, capped by a Jodie Meeks 3-pointer which put the visitors ahead, 31-30 with 8:12 on the clock. It wasn't enough to stem the tide as the Cavaliers took control over the remainder of the first half thanks to a 14-2 surge over the next three-plus minutes to snag a comfortable 44-33 lead.
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Miles netted the first seven points during the run, which was finished off by a Varejao 18-foot jump shot with 4:07 to play before the break.
Howard hit a pair from the line after a dunk to cut the deficit to seven, but Irving hit two jumpers and Miles drained a triple, then Gee added an alley-oop slam and free throw as the Cavs held a 54-39 cushion at the half.
Game Notes
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The Lakers have lost seven of their last eight games in Cleveland and fell to 2-10 this season when trailing at halftime ... Cleveland snapped a four-game home losing streak and improved to 3-6 at Quicken Loans Arena this season ... Los Angeles shot 41.3 percent from the floor and just 25-of-40 from the free throw line ... Cleveland converted 19 LA turnovers into 24 points.