Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love tries to shoot against Los Angeles Lakers' Tarik BlackMark Duncan/The Associated Press
LeBron James sent a cryptic message to Kevin Love off the floor, then connected with him directly on the court.
Love scored a season-high 32 points, James flirted with a triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back quickly from a road loss with a 120-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
The Cavs had their 12-game winning streak snapped at Indiana on Friday, a run that started when they beat the Lakers on Jan. 15. Love helped get them back on track, making five 3-pointers in the second quarter and two in the third as Cleveland opened a 26-point lead.
James scored 22 with 10 rebounds and eight assists – two on 3-pointers by Love in a 30-second span – in three quarters. All-Star guard Kyrie Irving added 28 points and 10 assists.
It was the type of performance the Cavs have wanted more regularly from Love, who scored just five points and took only eight shots in Cleveland's loss to the Pacers. He also spent much of the fourth quarter that night on the bench. A few days earlier, Love scored five in a win over Philadelphia and went onto the floor afterward to work on his touch.
On Saturday, James sent out a tweet that many suspected was for Love. It said: "Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be a part of something special! Just my thoughts."
James was asked if the tweet was for someone in particular.
"It was more about people in general," James told a large media group. "It was a general thought I had. Obviously, whatever thought I have people try to encrypt it and Da Vinci code it. People are always trying to fit out instead of fit in and be part of something special. That's what it's all about."
In October, Love said he was trying "not to fit in so much" with the Cavs, adding new teammates had encouraged him to "fit out. Just be myself."
Later, to a smaller group of reporters, James indicated the tweet was aimed at Love.
"It's not a coincidence, man," he said.
Rookie Jordan Clarkson scored a career-high 20 for the Lakers, who matched a franchise record with their 10th straight road loss. Los Angeles hasn't won away from Staples Center since Dec. 30. The Lakers also lost 10 in a row on the road in 1957-58 and 1963-64.
"I'm happy it's over," coach Byron Scott said. "I thought our guys were soft. We allowed them to do whatever they wanted. You can't play that way."
Love finished 11 of 18 from the field and added 10 rebounds. He was the last Cleveland player in the locker room, addressing the media long after James and others had left.
He sat in a chair at his locker and stared at the floor while answering questions. One of them was if he thought the Lakers would be an attractive option this summer, when he can opt out of his contract.
"I'm a Cleveland Cavalier," he said.
James didn't show any signs of being slowed by a nagging ankle or wrist injury, and the large lead allowed coach David Blatt to rest his best player for the entire fourth quarter.
THUNDER 131, CLIPPERS 108
OKLAHOMA CITY – Kevin Durant scored 29 points to lead the Thunder to a 131-108 win Sunday over the Los Angeles Clippers, who were without All-Star Blake Griffin.
The Clippers announced before the game that Griffin will be out indefinitely because of a staph infection in his right elbow. Without him, the Clippers fell to their most lopsided loss of the season.
Russell Westbrook had 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and rookie Mitch McGary had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who shot 52 per cent and moved back above the .500 mark.
Jamal Crawford scored 21 points and Chris Paul had 18 points and 13 assists for the Clippers.
GRIZZLIES 94, HAWKS 88
MEMPHIS – Mike Conley had 21 points and six assists, Marc Gasol finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Memphis beat Atlanta.
The game was tied at 86 after Mike Scott's 3-pointer with 3:24 left before Memphis scored the next eight points to put away the game.
Zach Randolph had 11 points and 15 rebounds, while Kosta Koufos finished with 10 points and seven rebounds as Memphis outrebounded the Hawks 55-37.
One of those rebounds provided the tiebreaking basket, with Tony Allen tipping in Randolph's miss to make it 88-86 with 2:28 remaining.
Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 22 points, shooting 9 of 13, while Kent Bazemore added 14 points. Dennis Schroder and Scott finished with 11 apiece off the Atlanta bench and DeMarre Carroll scored 10.
TRAIL BLAZERS 109, ROCKETS 98
HOUSTON – LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 23 to help Portland fight off a late charge from Houston.
James Harden tied a season high with 45 points for the Rockets, who are playing without star centre Dwight Howard, out indefinitely with knee swelling.
The Trail Blazers led by 17 in the second half, but a big third quarter helped Houston to a slim lead early in the fourth quarter. Portland scored seven straight points to break a tie and take a 92-85 lead midway through the period, with five points from Meyers Leonard in that stretch.
Houston cut the lead to four points twice in the last 2 1/2 minutes, but Portland answered both times.
BULLS 98, MAGIC 97
ORLANDO – Pau Gasol dunked in the rebound of Derrick Rose's missed layup with 9.4 seconds left, and Chicago rallied to beat Orlando.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 27 points, and Gasol finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Joakim Noah added 18 points and nine rebounds.
Chicago led by as many as 16 points, before finding itself in a six-point hole with just over 2 minutes to play.
The Magic had two opportunities to win the game in the closing seconds. But Nik Vucevic's hook rolled off the rim, and Tobias Harris overshot a potential game-winning tip-in as time expired.
Victor Oladipo led six Orlando players in double figures with 18 points. Harris added 15, and Vucevic 14.
PACERS 103, HORNETS 102
CHARLOTTE – George Hill's baseline layup with 4.9 seconds left lifted Indiana to a come-from-behind victory over Charlotte.
C.J. Watson had 22 points and David West, Luis Scola and Rodney Stuckey each had 15 as the Pacers battled back from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit for their third straight win.
Al Jefferson had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and Brian Roberts added 19 points in the loss.
After Marvin Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to put the Hornets up by one, Hill drove the right side of the line. He got underneath the basket and turned around to find himself alone near the low block. He converted the easy layup for the go-ahead basket.
TIMBERWOLVES 112, PISTONS 101
AUBURN HILLS – Nikola Pekovic scored 29 points and Kevin Martin added 24 to lift Minnesota to its third straight victory.
Minnesota had not even won back-to-back games this season until this modest streak. The Timberwolves led throughout against the Pistons despite the absence of guard Ricky Rubio, who is still recovering from a left ankle injury. Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points for Minnesota, and Thaddeus Young added 16.
Andre Drummond had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, going 8 of 8 from the field.
Detroit trailed 74-55 in the third quarter before fighting back to make a game of it. It was 83-79 early in the fourth, but a 3-pointer by Wiggins started an 18-6 run for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves have won 10 straight over the Pistons.
KINGS 85, SUNS 83
SACRAMENTO – DeMarcus Cousins made a jumper as time expired and finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds as Sacramento beat Phoenix at the buzzer.
It was the fourth loss on the final shot for the Suns, and like ones by the Clippers' Blake Griffin and Milwaukee's Khris Middleton that hit rim or backboard first, it wasn't a pretty one.
Cousins launched a 19-footer from the key that hit the rim several times before settling into the basket, setting of a huge celebration at midcourt by the struggling Kings.
Isaiah Thomas had 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, who have dropped four of five games. Goran Dragic added 13 points.