Cavaliers top 76ers despite ugly ending

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

The Cleveland Cavaliers won’t get style points for Sunday’s 87-86 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

And that’s just fine with LeBron James.

Moving 21/2 games ahead of Chicago for second place in the Eastern Conference was all that mattered to James, who led Cleveland with 20 points.

“You find a way to win,” he said as the Cavaliers hung on for their 16th straight home victory despite being held scoreless over the final 4:04.

“This is a winning league. No matter however you gotta do it, you do it.”

The Cavaliers, coming off a stretch that had them play 14 of 19 games on the road, struggled to put away the team with the third-worst record in the league.

Cleveland, which is 29-7 since Jan. 13, lost to Brooklyn on Friday and scuffled at times in wins over Indiana and Milwaukee.

Asked if the Cavaliers are in a minor funk, James said, “A minor funk? We were 19-20 at one point. [This] ain’t no funk. What’s our record? That’s not much a funk. We’re playing good ball.”

The Cavaliers, who lost Kevin Love (back) and Iman Shumpert (left ankle) to injuries, won’t practice again until Wednesday before hosting Miami on Thursday.

Timofey Mozgov’s basket gave Cleveland an 87-83 lead with 4:04 remaining, but the Cavaliers didn’t score again and the 76ers cut the lead to one. Kyrie Irving missed a shot in the lane and Philadelphia called timeout with 8.5 seconds left to set up the last shot.

Nerlens Noel got a good look in the lane, but his shot bounced off the rim and Tristan Thompson was fouled while grabbing the rebound. Cleveland called timeout to inbound the ball at midcourt. The pass was tipped away as time ran out.

Robert Covington scored 19 points to lead Philadelphia, but missed two free throws with 1:07 left that could have put the 76ers ahead.

Noel, who scored a career-high 30 points Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers, sat in front of his locker with his head in his hands for a half hour following the game.

“I got a good look, but it went in and out there,” he said. “I just didn’t make the shot.”

Neither team scored in the final 3:56 and they combined to go 0 for 11 from the field.

“Never underestimate a win,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said. “It was evident we were physically slow and a little mentally beat down, but we found a way to win and that’s good.”

Irving scored 17 points while James, who was 8 of 24 from the field, had 11 rebounds and six assists. He moved within two points of passing Patrick Ewing for 20th place on the career scoring list.