Cavs trade for Mozgov, lose vs Rockets

Cleveland, USA – The Cleveland Cavaliers, struggling since a season-ending injury to Anderson Varejao, obtained Russian big man Timofey Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, January 7, (Thursday in PH) for two future first-round NBA Draft picks.

The 28-year-old, 7-foot center played for Cavaliers coach David Blatt on Russia’s 2012 London Olympic team that captured a bronze medal.

The Cavaliers, sparked by 4-time NBA MVP LeBron James and forward Kevin Love, as well as guard Kyrie Irving, are pushing to win quickly after assembling talent once James announced in July he was leaving Miami, where he won two NBA titles and twice more lost in the final, to return to his home-region club.

But they have been nagged by injuries that benched Irving and Love part of December and have James out for at least two weeks.

Mozgov averaged 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds a game for the Nuggets, who started 15-20 and stood 10th in the Western Conference.

His size would help the Cavaliers recover from the loss of Brazilian big man Varejao, who suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon two weeks ago. He was averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.

The Cavaliers, 2-7 since losing Varejao, are 19-17 overall, 5th in the Eastern Conference and 6 games behind Central division leader Chicago. They are also among the league’s worst teams at denying opponents from scoring near the basket.

Mozgov would take some of the rebounding load from Love’s shoulders and make him a bigger threat offensively and defensively.

The Cavaliers obtained a 2015 draft pick from Oklahoma City in a three-team deal earlier this week and sent that plus an earlier 2015 first-rounder to the Nuggets in exchange for Mozgov.

The deals also brought the Cavaliers 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith and guard Iman Shumpert from New York.

READ: Smith to Cleveland, Waiters to OKC in multi-team trade

Irving scores 38 in losing effort

Kyrie Irving scored 38 points but did so in a losing cause Wednesday, January 7, (Thursday in PH) as the Houston Rockets pulled away late to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-93.

Houston’s James Harden, the NBA scoring leader, went only 6-of-18 from the field but led the Rockets with 21 points as the visitors outscored the Cavaliers 32-19 in the fourth quarter in taking their third victory in five games.

The Cavaliers remain without injured star LeBron James, the NBA’s number two scorer who has a sore back and knee.

Dwight Howard scored 17 points and grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds for Houston while reserve Josh Smith added 16 points, seven of them in the fourth quarter.

Irving’s season-high point total included only 4 points in the final period after torching Houston for 34 over the opening 3 quarters. His first field goal in the fourth quarter did not come until that was only about a minute remaining in the game.

Houston’s Corey Brewer scored 8 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and Trevor Ariza netted 13 points for the Rockets.

J.R. Smith played more than 17 minutes off the bench but went scoreless in his Cavaliers debut, missing all 5 of his shots. He was part of a three-team, six-player deal earlier in the week.

Kevin Love added 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers while Tristan Thompson scored 11 for Cleveland, which lost for the 6th time in 7 games. They are 19-17 overall but only 1-5 since James was sidelined.

The Cavaliers open their road trip Friday at Golden State, which has the NBA’s best record at 27-5.

The Rockets improved to 24-11, fifth in the Western Conference. – Rappler.com