12-24-2019, 07:58 AM
WASHINGTON -- One day after their general manager was unexpectedly fired and playing without their second leading scorer, the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to snap their six-game losing streak. Luol Deng was out with flu-like symptoms, and Kyrie Irving, who missed shootaround because he was ill, fought through his sneezing spells to help lead the Cavaliers to a 115-113 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday. Irving had 23 points and tied a career high with 12 assists and made all 13 of his free throws. Dion Waiters scored 24 points and C.J. Miles had 18 for Cleveland. "Im all right. Its the best that Im going to get right now," Irving said. The second-year guard admitted that the firing of Chris Grant, who drafted him, was troubling. "Thats the sad part, the bad part about our business. Things are going to change whether you like it or not and you still have to go out there and perform as a professional. It was probably on our minds but we cant use it as an excuse," Irving said. Cleveland took a 67-63 lead at halftime when Irving hit four free throws just before the intermission and never relinquished it. The Cavaliers took a 101-87 lead three minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Wizards, who were led by John Walls 32 points and 10 assists, couldnt make up the difference. Martell Webster hit two late 3-pointers to cut the lead to 115-113 with 2.9 seconds left. Clevelands Jarrett Jack missed two free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining. A scramble resulted with Washington getting possession with 0.2 seconds left, but couldnt get off a final shot. The near comeback didnt impress Wizards coach Randy Wittman. "We wait until the last four minutes to fly around and decide to play defence. Last four minutes of the game. Everybody will say, you gave a great effort coming down the stretch. No we didnt. For 44 minutes we didnt give an effort," Wittman said. His team didnt heed his warnings. "We told them what that organization is going through right now. Some tough times with the firing of their GM. Theyre going to be desperate. It always happens no matter who it is that gets fired," Wittman said. Washington fell to 24-25. Its the 12th time theyre one game under .500 this season. The Wizards were one game over .500 after Mondays win against Portland for the first time since Oct. 31, 2009, but they lost in double overtime to San Antonio on Wednesday. "Were not a very good team. Good teams dont do that over and over and over and over again. We can get all caught up in .500, and I told you guys what that meant. Nothing. And think youve arrived. Good teams do not lose basketball games like this nine, ten, 11 times halfway through a season," Wittman said. Marcin Gortat had 19 and Webster 18 for Washington. "We have a lot of fans coming in, paying to watch good basketball at a high level. They expect us to win games like that -- and were losing," Gortat said. Waiters scored just four of his 24 points in the fourth quarter when he was just 2 for 7 from the field. "The energy was different, these guys knew what was at stake after going through a situation where we went through. We faced adversity and it wasnt the first time for us but at the end of the day we came out here we played hard, played for one another and we got a big win," Waiters said. Grant came under fire after he chose Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick last June. Bennett has struggled in his first months with Cleveland, though coach Mike Brown, a longtime friend of Grants, defended Bennett before Fridays game, saying hes shown great improvement recently. Bennett had eight points. NOTES: Clevelands Alonzo Gee had a season-high 11 points. . Wall addressed the fans before the game, thanking them for their support in All-Star Game voting. The fourth-year guard will play in the Feb. 16 game in New Orleans for the first time. .Washington F Al Harrington hasnt played since Nov. 12 because of right knee surgery. Wittman said he thinks Harrington will play again this season, but wouldnt put a timetable on it. Buffalo Sabres Shirts . The time off didnt slow them down. Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds, Kyrie Irving added 14 points and the Cavaliers pushed their winning streak to five games Tuesday night with a 114-85 victory over the skidding Philadelphia 76ers. Sabres Jerseys 2020 . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. https://www.cheapsabres.com/ . The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made. By releasing Bailey, the Broncos would open up cap space with the 12-time Pro Bowl player scheduled to make around $10 million next season. Buffalo Sabres Gear . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Wholesale Sabres Jerseys .S. President Barack Obama saluted the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks at the White House on Monday -- a rare moment for a president hungry to see more victorious teams from his hometown.The Edmonton Oilers acquired goalie Viktor Fasth from the Anaheim Ducks for a fifth round pick in 2014 and a third round pick in 2015 on Tuesday and traded goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2014 draft. Fasth, 31, is in the first year of a two-year, $5.8 million contract signed after a strong 2012-13 season. Fasth has played just five ggames this year for the Ducks, recording a .dddddddddddd885 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average. Fasth sports a career .915 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average. Also on Tuesday, the Ducks dealt forward Dustin Penner the Washington Capitals for a fourth round pick and used that pick to acquire defenceman Stephane Robidas from the Dalls Stars. ' ' '