LOS ANGELES -- Mike Brown had no interest in rehashing his past with the Los Angeles Lakers -- not right now, not with his new team struggling. Cheap Sports Jerseys . Hes much more intrigued by the possibilities in the Cleveland Cavaliers future after a breakout game by their newest acquisition. Luol Deng hit five 3-pointers while scoring 27 points, Anderson Varejao added 18 points and 18 rebounds, and the Cavaliers beat the spiraling Lakers 120-118 Tuesday night. Dion Waiters scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers improved to 4-16 on the road. They also won for Brown in his return to Staples Center to face the Lakers, who fired him early last season before descending into the mess of a team that couldnt keep up with Cleveland down the stretch. "I dont care where I am, I really want wins," Brown said. "If we win, I can take some satisfaction from it, but theres a lot of learning we can do from this game, too." Jodie Meeks hit six 3-pointers while scoring a season-high 26 points in injury-plagued Los Angeles fifth straight defeat. Nick Young scored 28 points, but the Lakers have lost 11 of 12 heading into a punishing seven-game road trip starting Wednesday in Phoenix. "This is hard," said Young, who missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. "Were losing, and were losing players daily. Its frustrating, but weve still got to get up and play basketball. Nobody wants to get embarrassed. Youve got to still take pride in that Lakers uniform." Brown coached just 71 games with the Lakers, who hired him to succeed 11-time NBA champion Phil Jackson in 2011 and then pulled the plug on his tenure five games into last season. Brown expressed no hard feelings or regret about his brief tenure with the Lakers, saying hes still on good terms with Kobe Bryant and other Los Angeles players. Deng had five rebounds and four assists his first big game since joining Cleveland in a trade with Chicago a week ago. He was the centerpiece of the highest-scoring regulation performance of the season by the Cavs, who hit 13 of 17 3-pointers and outrebounded Los Angeles 48-35 to earn their second win in three stops on a five-game trip. "Theres a lot more optimism and a lot more talent now that Luol has been added to the mix," said Kyrie Irving, who had 13 points. "Hes a great addition, and to get him on this road trip was big for us." Deng and Waiters put the Cavs ahead during a 12-0 rally early in the fourth quarter, but Young hit three free throws with 25.3 seconds to play, trimming the lead to two points. Tristan Thompson missed two of four free throws in the final 16 seconds, but Young missed two late 3-pointers. "We talked at halftime about coming out with a lot of energy, and I thought we responded well," Deng said. "Once we got the lead, they tried to get back in the game, and it was back and forth. But I thought we did a good job of keeping the lead and controlling the game at the end." Pau Gasol had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the Lakers only home game in a 22-day span. Los Angeles will be away for the next two weeks while the Grammys take over Staples Center. Kendall Marshall had 10 points and 16 assists for Los Angeles, which had just nine players in uniform. Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry are all out with long-term injuries, and Gasol only determined he could play on his injured big toe after pregame warmups. "It wasnt like our energy and focus werent there," Gasol said. "We hung in there, but we couldnt pull it off. ... The defence needs to improve drastically, thats for sure. Whatever it takes to secure those boards, we need to be there." NOTES: Henry wont return from the bone bruise in his right knee for at least another week, but hes likely to be the first injured player back for Los Angeles. ... Nash wont travel on the Lakers upcoming road trip, instead heading back to Vancouver for rehab on his assorted injuries. The two-time MVP hasnt played since Nov. 10. ... F Earl Clark, who parlayed a decent season with the Lakers into a free-agent contract with Cleveland last summer, scored two points in five minutes. Sports Jerseys . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey. Discount Sports Jerseys . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. https://www.discountsportsjerseyscheap.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.The Columbus Blue Jackets will take another shot at the earning the first playoff win in team history on Saturday when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Blue Jackets are in the postseason for just the second time in 13 seasons since entering the league as an expansion club in 2000-01. Columbus also qualified for the 2009 playoffs, but was swept by Detroit in four games during the opening round. Columbus actually held a 3-1 lead over Pittsburgh in Game 1 of this best-of- seven series on Wednesday, but the Penguins scored the games final three goals to claim a 4-3 decision and drop the Blue Jackets to 0-5 all-time in postseason contests. Brandon Sutter scored the game-winner for Pittsburgh 8:18 into the third period after his team struggled in the early going. The Blue Jackets built a 3-1 advantage under a minute into the second period, but Pittsburgh, which finished tied for the NHLs top power-play unit in the regular season, netted a pair of power-play goals 45 seconds apart to tie the game less than 2 1/2 minutes into the middle stanza. The Penguins finished 2-for-3 on the power play, while Columbus converted just one of four opportunities with the man advantage. Sutter supplied the winner with a wrister from the right circle, while Marc- Andre Fleury made nine of his 31 saves over the final 20 minutes to help the Pens draw first blood in the series. "The more shots came, the more comfortable I felt," said Fleury, who was making his first postseason start since being pulled in the opening round of Pittsburghs run to the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. "It just feels great to win that one." Beau Bennett and Matt Niskanen each notched a goal and an assist, while Jussi Jokinen also lit the lamp for the Metropolitan Division champion Penguins, who went 5-0-0 against Columbus during the regular season. Stitched Sports Jerseys. Evgeni Malkin, who sat out Pittsburghs final 11 games with a sprained foot, added a pair of assists, while captain Sidney Crosby picked up a helper in the triumph. Jack Johnson collected a goal and an assist for Columbus, while Derek MacKenzie and Mark Letestu tallied a goal apiece. Sergei Bobrovsky, last seasons Vezina Trophy winner, stopped 28 shots in the setback. "Theres going to be ups and downs throughout a playoff series and theyve only won one game, theyve gotta win four," Johnson said of his team coming back for Game 2 after blowing a two-goal lead. "Its a war of attrition and you cant get down about this." Columbus played Game 1 without forwards Nick Foligno, Nathan Horton and R.J. Umberger, but at least one of those guys will be in the lineup on Saturday as Umberger expects to play for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on April 6. Foligno will miss Game 2. The team is hopeful that he will be ready for Game 3. A native of the Pittsburgh area, Umberger is eager to skate in another postseason tilt in the Steel City. The 31-year-old did face the Penguins in the 2008 playoffs at the Igloo while still a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. "I grew up going to these playoff games, this was my childhood and earlier in my career I got a chance to play in Mellon Arena," Umberger said. "The atmosphere was great (in Game 1) and Im anxious and really excited to get in there." Foligno originally had been ruled out for Game 2, but he was able to practice on Thursday and is now considered questionable for Saturdays tilt. Horton, meanwhile, will be sidelined until at least the middle of May following abdominal surgery. The series will shift to Columbus following tonights battle. Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at Nationwide Arena and the Blue Jackets also will host Game 4 on Wednesday. ' ' '  |
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