Lue changes course; LeBron, Irving, Love play
OKLAHOMA CITY — LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were all in the starting lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, less than 24 hours after Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said the team’s Big 3 would “probably” all rest.
The Cavs, playing their fourth game on the road in six nights, lost 118-109.
“Nothing changed,” Lue told reporters before the game. “It’s just I said I wanted to see how the guys felt, and they feel pretty good. We’re playing some pretty good basketball right now and they just want to keep it rolling. So all three guys say they feel pretty good, and we got a good thing going, so why not keep it going?”
In other words, the players likely convinced Lue to let them play, as Cleveland had won six of its seven previous games.
A day after the Cavs’ 132-117 win at Indiana, James had 18 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Irving poured in a team-high 28 points, and Love added 15…