Nets 82 - 98 Cavaliers
Final
  for this game

Nets and Cavs clash in Cleveland

Jan 1, 2012 - 3:40 PM (Sports Network) - Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers hope to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss when they entertain the reeling New Jersey Nets on New Year's Day.

Cleveland certainly had its chances on Friday to beat Indiana before the Pacers held on for a 98-91 overtime win. Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft and the new face of the Cavs franchise, blew a wide open layup after a great dribble move at the end of regulation.

The Pacers' David West deposited a one-handed shot from the left side of the lane with 4.4 seconds left to tie the game at 84 before Irving blew past Roy Hibbert at the top of the lane and avoided a leaping Danny Granger near the bucket, but his left-handed attempt rolled off the rim as time expired.

"Coach (Byron) Scott called a great play," Irving said. "It was a screen and roll. I got a great look at it. I just wish it would have went down, but it didn't."

Granger then took over in OT, as the Pacers beat the Cavaliers for a sixth straight time.

Irving scored 20, while Anderson Varejao ended with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavs.

The Nets, meanwhile, dropped their third straight and fell to 0-2 on a three- game road trip in Atlanta on Friday when Jeff Teague scored 22 points and Joe Johnson had 21, including nine in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks held off New Jersey to take a 105-98 victory.

Deron Williams had a game-high 23 points to go along with six assists and rookie MarShon Brooks contributed 21 points, but also had a costly mistake late in the fourth quarter in New Jersey's third straight loss.

Kris Humphries recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds in a losing effort.

Down by four and coming out of a timeout, Brooks was well defended on the throw-in and tried to call another timeout. However, New Jersey was out of timeouts and was called for a technical foul. Johnson made the free throw and was quickly fouled again, leading to two more at the charity stripe to put Atlanta ahead, 103-96, and seal the victory.

"He just got caught up in a bad situation. We didn't have any timeouts and he just forgot," Nets head coach Avery Johnson said. "It's on us as a coaching staff. We've got to do a better job of reminding him more when he's in that situation."

New Jersey, of course, continues to play without center Brook Lopez, the team's leading scorer a year ago. The Stanford product is expected to miss at least a month with a stress fracture in his foot.

The Nets have won three straight over Cleveland after dropping the previous nine.






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