Cavaliers 92 - 95 76ers
Final
  for this game

Short-handed Cavs visit Philly

Jan 5, 2015 - 3:26 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have been sputtering of late and with LeBron James out of the lineup, they'll hit the road Monday to face the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Cavs have lost four of their last five and five of their last seven.

James will miss at least another week with a strained left knee and a strained lower back. All-Star guard Kyrie Irving joined the injured list with lower back tightness and won't make the trip to Philly.

Irving left Sunday's 109-90 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks early in the third quarter after just 25 minutes. He finished with six points before exiting.

"Just in a lot of pain right now," Irving said after the game. "Trying to get through it. I have to do what I can to get better. You try your best to get through it, but sometimes your body is telling you when to stop."

Kevin Love picked up the offensive slack for Cleveland again, scoring 30 and grabbing 10 rebounds. Shawn Marion added 13 points and Matthew Dellavedova chipped in 10.

The Cavs allowed the Mavs to shoot 56.4 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from long range.

"The other night we played great defensively. Today we did not play good enough defense to beat any team, and certainly not Dallas," said Cavaliers coach David Blatt. "We didn't defend the 3-point shot well."

The Cavs host Houston on Wednesday, then head west for five straight.

The Sixers returned from a seven-game road trip, which featured five games out west. That portion of the trip went poorly. The Sixers opened with victories in Orlando and Miami, then went 0-5 to close the sojourn.

On Saturday, the 76ers were demolished at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers, 127-91.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams missed the game with shoulder soreness. He stated he will be back for Monday's contest with the Cavs.

In his absence, Tony Wroten scored 27 and Robert Covington chipped in 23 points for the Sixers. Luc Mbah a Moute added 14 and JaKarr Sampson managed 10.

The Sixers trailed by 14 after three quarters, then the Clippers turned it on. They outscored Philadelphia, 39-17, over the final 12 minutes for the lopsided victory.

"We play for 36 minutes often. We can't sustain it," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "The flood gates opened. It's a 48-minute game and we had breakdowns."

The Cavaliers have won three straight against the Sixers, who are 0-14 at home this season. Philly is 5-1 in its last six as the host in this series.






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