Thomas scores 17 points in Cavs win against Blazers

LeBronJames dropped in 24 points and two-time all-star Isaiah Thomas made hisCleveland debut as the Cavaliers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers127-110 on Tuesday night.The Cavaliers had five players in doublefigures including Thomas who showed flashes of his offensive skill in along-awaited first game with his fourth National Basketball Associationteam. Thomas tallied 17 points in 19 minutes of play as he embarks on asoft return to NBA action following injuries to his hip and shoulder.“Itwas great see him get his first basket and go from there,” James saidof Thomas. “He is a spark and the jump we needed on our team right now.”Jamesalso had seven assists and four steals while starters Kevin Love (19)and Jae Crowder (17) scored in double figures for the Cavaliers in thewin.Thomas and Dwyane Wade came off the bench to score 16 and 15 points respectively.Thomaswas traded by the Boston Celtics along with Crowder, Ante Zizic and twodraft picks to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving in the offseason.Thomas’last game was May 19, game two of the Eastern Conference finals againstthe Cavs. He played hurt through the first two rounds of the playoffs,then was furious that Boston traded him. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue saidearlier that Thomas would play restricted minutes on Tuesday. Eventhough the Cavaliers’ next game is against the Celtics, Thomas alreadysaid he isn’t keen on facing his old teammates just yet. “I can waituntil February,” Thomas said when announcing his return. “I think weplay them in February again, so I can wait and put on a show then.”DamianLillard returned to the Blazers lineup from injury and finished with 22points. Lillard missed five games with a sore right hamstring. JusufNurkic scored a team-high 23 points and CJ McCollum chipped in 19 in theloss.Spurs 100, Knicks 91Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points on8-of-20 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in 30 minutes to pace SanAntonio to a win over visiting New York.LaMarcus Aldridge finishedwith 19 points and five boards while Manu Ginobili scored 12 points andPau Gasol had 11 and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Kristaps Porzingiswas one of three Knicks with 13 points and also grabbed nine rebounds.Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas also scored 13, Enes Kanter had 12 andJarrett Jack chipped in 12 for New York, which has lost five of six.Suns 104, Hawks 103DevinBooker scored 34 points, sinking five three throws in the final 12.3seconds, and Phoenix scored 11 consecutive points late in the fourthquarter to steal a victory over visiting Atlanta.Dennis Schroder’sdriving layup with nine-tenths of a second remaining ended the Suns’11-0 run, but Phoenix successfully inbounded the ball to end the game.TJWarren scored 31 points on 15-of-21 shooting, and Chriss had 17 pointsand 11 rebounds for the Suns. Ersan Ilyasova had 21 points and Schroderand Kent Bazemore added 20 apiece for the Hawks.Clippers 113, Grizzlies 105Lou Williams scored 33 points to lead Los Angeles to a victory over visiting Memphis.Williamsconnected on all 15 of his free-throw attempts as the Clippers wontheir fourth consecutive game and their sixth in the past seven. Williamstopped 30 points in four of the past six contests and is averaging 30.8points during the stretch. Blake Griffin added 21 points and eightassists, and C.J. Williams scored 18 points for Los Angeles.Tyreke Evans scored 18 points and Mario Chalmers added 15 for Memphis. The Grizzlies shot just 36.6 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 48.7 percent.Hornets 131, Kings 111Nicolas Batum scored 21 points, and Dwight Howard had 20 as Charlotte rolled to a victory over Sacramento.Jeremy Lamb and Johnny O’Bryant III each had 16 points, and Kemba Walker contributed 12 points and 10 assists for the Hornets. Charlotteshot 57.3 percent from the field and coasted after building a 20-pointhalftime lead that grew to 23 late in the third quarter. Randolphfinished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Skal Labissiere had 17points and 15 rebounds for Sacramento, which has lost three straighthome games since beating the Cavaliers last Wednesday. The Kings havelost five of six.