Cavaliers-Suns Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Jan 11 2012 1:22PM

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns have been much different on the road than at home.

Kyrie Irving continues to impress regardless of where he's playing.

Arguably the best point guard of the past decade takes on his possible heir apparent for the first time Thursday night when Nash and the Suns host Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Phoenix (4-5) is coming off another poor offensive performance on the road, falling 99-83 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night as Kobe Bryant scored 48 points. That was only nine fewer than the Suns' starting five combined.

Nash had eight assists, his fewest in five games this month, as his team was held to 42.5 percent from the field. Phoenix has failed to crack 100 points in all four of its road games, averaging 90.5 while shooting 42.4 percent, and has lost the last three.

The Suns had similar problems in dropping their first two home games, getting held below 85 points in both, but they've scored more than 100 in each of the last three and won them all. They've shot 49.0 percent from the field and averaged 24.3 assists during that home winning streak.

Nash has shot 77.8 percent from the field (21 of 27) in those three games. The two-time MVP is at 41.5 percent on the road this season while averaging 10.8 points, compared to 13.2 at home.

Irving, meanwhile, has averaged 17.1 points in his last seven games. The No. 1 overall pick tops all rookies in scoring (15.6 ppg) and is second in assists (5.1 per game).

He scored 20 points Tuesday, but the Cavaliers fell to 1-3 on their seven-game road trip with a 113-105 loss in Utah.

"This loss tonight was about us," Irving said. "We kind of beat up ourselves tonight."

Now Cleveland (4-5) looks to beat up the Suns on the offensive glass.

Phoenix has given up a league-worst average of 13.7 offensive rebounds, including 15.0 in four games over the past week. The Cavaliers are grabbing 13.0 per game in that span, among the league's best, as Anderson Varejao has reached double digits in rebounds in all four games.

The Suns let the Lakers score 18 second-chance points on 14 offensive boards Tuesday.

"We couldn't score at the end of the game and we gave up too many offensive rebounds again," Nash said. "They got 18 second-chance points. I mean, that's nearly one out of every five points that's a second-chance point, and that's too many."

However, a pair of Suns big men have gotten hot on the offensive end lately. Center Marcin Gortat is averaging 17.0 points on 69.6 percent shooting over the past four games. Forward Channing Frye is 7 of 9 from 3-point range in the last two, totaling 33 points, after going 4 for 23 through the first seven games while averaging 5.4 points.

Frye averaged 17.0 points in last season's sweep of the Cavaliers. Nash had 17.5 points and 16.0 assists per game in those two meetings.

Antawn Jamison scored 23 points in each but has lost eight straight against Phoenix - the first six while with Washington.

Irving leads Cavaliers past Suns, 101-90

Posted Jan 13 2012 1:47AM

PHOENIX (AP) Kyrie Irving is a fast learner.

After playing only 11 games at Duke, he was deemed good enough to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

In only his 10th game in the league, he scored a season-high 26 points, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 101-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Irving, the catalyst of the improved Cavaliers, topped his previous high of 21.

Irving did most of his damage against Steve Nash, the NBA's two-time Most Valuable Player.

"It was definitely fun playing against a great point guard like Steve Nash," Irving, 19, said. "I have been watching him for so long and playing against him was a little surreal."

Irving credited his teammates.

"I was just feeding off my teammates," he said. "I was taking it off the screens and taking what the defense gave me. My teammates had enough confidence in me and kept feeding me. They told me to keep going and that's what I did."

Antawn Jamison matched his season high with 23 points, and Anderson Varejeo had 15 rebounds.

Nash led six Suns players in double figures with 16 points, becoming the 15th active player to reach 16,000 points. He also had 15 assists. Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Michael Redd, playing his first game for Phoenix, had 12 points in 19 minutes.

Irving put on a remarkable performance in the first half. With the Cavaliers trailing 40-34, he scored 12 consecutive points in 2:51, including two 3s, capping a 14-0 run and lifting Cleveland to a 46-40 advantage.

Jamison said the turning point of the game was the second quarter.

"We got to the point where we had some consecutive stops," he said.

The Suns were duly impressed with Irving's effort.

"He's good," Ronnie Price said. "He's sound for a young guy. He plays the pick and roll better than a lot of rookies. He has free range to do what he has to do on the court. He made all the right plays. You have to give him credit."

One of his best plays was hitting over Gortat.

"I told him he put me on ESPN with his fancy moves," the Suns' center said. "He's talented. He was really good today. But I didn't help (defensively) on the pick and rolls and he was able to beat Steve."

After Irving's offensive outburst, Jamison took charge of the offense. He scored seven straight Cleveland points, helping the Cavaliers to a 56-48 halftime advantage.

Irving finished the half with 16 points and Jamison had 13.

The Cavaliers, in the midst of a tough trip, played with extreme energy in the first half, outrunning and outrebounding the Suns.

Redd made his Suns' debut early in the first period, replacing Grant Hill, who had to leave with a bloody nose. Redd hit his first two shots, both 3s, then finished the half by shooting 3 for 6 in 10:55. Redd, signed recently as a free agent had not played since last April, but only sparingly with the Milwaukee Bucks. Because of two knee surgeries, he had played in only 61 games in the past three seasons.

Redd said his playing time "felt more like 40 minutes."

But overall, he was pleased with his effort.

"I felt a little rusty but it was to be expected," Redd said. "I didn't get winded. The knee feels fine. For me, this was preseason. To come back and play and move well, it felt good. It was good to get in there."

Hill returned, but experienced soreness in his right knee and did not play in the second half.

NOTES: This was the Cavaliers' fifth game in a grueling seven-game trip. They began it by losing to Toronto, then beat Minnesota, and lost to Utah and Portland. They will conclude the long journey with games at the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte. ... The Suns host New Jersey on Friday night, then embark on a five-game trip, starting with San Antonio and followed by Chicago, New York, Boston and Dallas. ... Cleveland is one of the youngest teams in the league with seven players with one or fewer years of NBA experience. ... The court at US Airways Center was refinished since the Suns last played on it Sunday night. The refinishing was necessary because players were slipping on it.

Notebook: Cavaliers 101, Suns 90

By Jonathan Dalton, for NBA.com
Posted Friday January 13, 2012 12:31AM

THE FACTS: Rookie Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 26 points and added six assists to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 101-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Antawn Jamison had 23 points and Daniel Gibson added 10 for the Cavaliers, who snapped a two-game losing streak despite shooting only 43.8 percent from the floor and having just the three players in double digits. Anderson Varejao added a season-high 17 rebounds for Cleveland.

Steve Nash had 16 points and 15 assists, Marcin Gortat scored 14 and Markieff Morris added 13 for the Suns, who have dropped two straight.

The Suns were without forward Grant Hill for most of the game. He first left barely two minutes in when he was cut on the face in a collision Varejao, returned to play another six minutes and then left for good with soreness in his right quadriceps tendon.

Phoenix pulled within 80-75 on Hakim Warrick's two free throws with 10:48 left but the Cavs, led by Alonzo Gee's four points, went on a 9-1 run over the next four-plus minutes to open a 89-76 lead with 6:29 to play.

QUOTABLE: "It was definitely fun playing against such a great point guard. I have been watching him for so long, so to finally get to play against him it was a little surreal."
-- Irving on facing Nash, who was four months from entering Santa Clara when the rookie was born.

THE STAT: Irving recorded one his best shooting nights as a pro, connecting on 11-of-17 field-goal attempts including 2-of-4 3-pointers.

TURNING POINT: Morris sank a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 40-32 lead with 8:46 left in the first half but then the wheels came off. Led by Irving's 10 straight points, the Cavaliers closed the half on a 24-8 run to take a 56-48 lead and never looked back. At one point during that stretch the Suns missed 11 of 12 field-goal attempts.

QUOTABLE II: "When you look back at the year, you're going to look back at this game and probably say that it was a bad loss at home to a team that you expect to beat, that you should expect to beat."
-- Suns guard Jared Dudley.

HOT: The Cavaliers already have two road wins against Western Conference opponents after recording only one last season. Cleveland also has three road wins, nearly halfway to last year's total of seven ... Jamison has averaged 22.5 points in his last two games.

NOT: Suns center Robin Lopez continued fading deeper into the Phoenix bench, logging only 5:16 of playing time and attempting one field goal.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Suns guard Michael Redd settled into the right corner like he'd never been gone, connecting on his first two 3-pointers and 4-of-9 overall for 12 points in his Suns debut. It was his best scoring night since scoring 24 on January 8, 2010 for Milwaukee in Chicago.

ROOKIE WATCH: Morris was better than his 0-for-4, 16-minute performance against the Lakers on Tuesday but still was inconsistent. He hit 5-of-9 attempts from the field but struggled defensively and was finished with five fouls.

NOTABLE: The Cavaliers' 30 first-quarter points were the most scored against the Suns in a period this season ... With a fourth-quarter free throw, Nash became the 15th active player to reach the 16,000-point mark. Teammate Hill is among the other 14.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Friday at L.A. Lakers, Monday at Charlotte, Tuesday vs. Golden State. For the Suns, Friday vs. New Jersey, Sunday at San Antonio, Tuesday at Chicago.

• Cavaliers: Eyenga, Thompson
• Suns: --

• Cavaliers: --
• Suns: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #59 Gary Zielinski, #28 Tommy Nunez Jr.
• Attendance: 14636
• Duration: 2:11