Cavaliers 127 (25-12), Trail Blazers 110 (19-18)

Isaiah Thomas‘s long-awaited Cavs debut finally came on Tuesday and it was worth the wait. The point guard who came over in the Kyrie Irving trade scored 17 points off the bench, playing 19 minutes and hitting three threes. LeBron James led the Cavs with 24 points and Damian Lillard had 25 for the Blazers. The win snapped a three-game skid for Cleveland.

Spurs 100 (26-12), Knicks 91 (18-19)

The Spurs held off a late Knicks charge to pull out an (at times) ugly win at Madison Square Garden. San Antonio shot just 38 percent for the game but got 29 points from LaMarcus Aldridge and 25 more from Kawhi Leonard. Michael Beasley had 18 to lead the Knicks, who also got double-figure scoring performances from each of their starters. With the win, Gregg Popovich moved into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time coaching wins list.

Suns 104 (15-24), Hawks 103 (10-27)

Devin Booker had 34 points and seven assists to lead the Suns to a comeback win in Phoenix. The Suns trailed by 10 with just under three minutes remaining before storming back, capped by a pair of free throws from Booker with 12 seconds left that put them ahead for good. He scored eight in the final 37 seconds of the game. TJ Warren also had a nice night, scoring 31. Ersan Ilyasova had 21 to lead the Hawks, while Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore each had 20.

Hornets 131 (14-23), Kings 111 (12-25)

The Hornets built a 20-point halftime lead and never looked back behind 20 points and eight rebounds from Dwight Howard and 12 points and 10 assists from Kemba Walker. This was just Charlotte’s fourth road win of the year, and it came on a night where it shot 57 percent from the field and made a season-high 15 threes. Zach Randolph had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings.

Clippers 113 (17-19), Grizzlies 105 (12-26)

Lou Williams scored 33 points and was a perfect 15-15 from the line to lead the Clippers in the league’s night cap. The game was close throughout, though the Clippers were able to open a bit of a lead in the fourth quarter, only to see the Grizzlies come storming back. Wayne Selden brought Memphis to within two with 2:04 to go, but Blake Griffin hit a dagger three on the ensuing possession. The Grizzlies didn’t get closer than three after that.Tyreke Evans led the Grizzlies with 18 points.

The post Post Up: IT Returns appeared first on SLAMonline

Isaiah Thomas' 4th quarter explosion in his Cavs' debut gives Cleveland a new dimension

He looked as good as ever.

Isaiah Thomas proved to be everything the Cavaliers hoped for tonight in the fourth quarter against the Trail Blazers. They lost their finisher in Kyrie Irving, but may have gained someone just as good — if not better — in Thomas.

He’s already caught his stride with the Cavs. He played on a minutes restriction tonight and only started the quarter, but when he was out there he was electric.

Thomas checked out with eight minutes left to play and LeBron James took over from there. Thomas finished the game as a +16 in 19 minutes.

He was the spark that pulled the Cavs away in the fourth quarter

This game would’ve been a lot closer without Thomas.

He only played about four minutes in the quarter, but his impact was clear. When the quarter started, the score was 91-87. Thomas sparked a 7-0 run with his playmaking to push the lead up to 100-91.

He made plays off the dribble.

He shared the ball and showed instant chemistry with his teammates and Dwyane Wade in particular.

He found Wade on cuts like this twice in his limited minutes. And then, on the next play down, he got himself a pull-up three.

In just under a minute of play, Thomas made all three of those plays putting the game away. Obviously, it’s a small sample but it’s exactly what James and the Cavaliers wanted to see out of their All-Star point guard. Read More Here

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Portland Trail Blazers Full Game Highlights

LA Clippers vs Memphis Grizzlies Full Game Highlights

San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks - Full Game Highlights

Blog

Post Up: IT Returns Isaiah Thomas made his long-awaited Cavaliers debut, the Spurs held off the Knicks, the Suns made a quick comeback, and more!