Off Topic » but consecutive treys by J.R. Smith and Irving

Not long before the San Antonio Spurs were set to tip-off against the Minnesota Timberwolves last weekend, coach Gregg Popovich found out that Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli were not going to be available because of injuries.It was the latest in a series of unexpected obstacles that have gotten in the Spurs way during their first title defence since the 2007-08 season.Manu was a surprise losing him. Losing Bellie today makes us, you know, a little bit paranoid, Popovich confessed before the Spurs easily dispatched the lowly Wolves, 108-93.Paranoid? The Spurs? In January?The Spurs have spent almost 20 years turning the NBAs regular season into nothing more than a six-month warmup for the playoffs.They manage minutes, develop bench players and set recovery times from injury with an eye not on winning games in the regular season, but making sure the team is adequately prepared and rested for the 2 1/2-month post-season grind.Popovich has perfected the art of the 82-game ramp-up, never getting overly concerned about how the team is playing in winter so long as they are progressing to where they need to be come spring time. And thats easy to do when the Spurs also own the best regular season winning percentage in the league over the past decade.But after the Spurs took their game to heights rarely seen in steam-rolling through the playoffs and beating the Miami Heat for the franchises fifth championship last June, they are in the unfamiliar position of chasing the pack.They are 23-15, good for just seventh in the powerful Western Conference and three games behind sixth-seeded Dallas.We had that tough schedule last month, and we put ourselves in a hole. Its a long season, and its time, weve got time to fight back, Tim Duncan said. But weve got to start now. Weve got to start focusing, concentrating on racking up the wins no matter where it is whether its home or on the road or whoever its against.They have dealt with a litany of injuries that has really prevented them from finding any kind of a groove this season. The Spurs went 8-10 in December — the first time in the Duncan era that they lost more games than they won in a month. And it has injected an uncommon sense of urgency in a team that rarely sweats the standings this early in the season.Every game is going to mean something, Popovich said. Were disappointed were in the position we are. We lost some games we could have won. And we were just injured at the wrong time. December was a heck of a month for us schedule-wise, and being injured at that time was tough.Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Tony Parker have all missed big chunks of time with injuries while Manu Ginobili and Belinelli have suffered the nagging, more minor variety.If we knew who was out, that would be good, Popovich said. But its been someone different every night. If we knew a few guys would be out for three weeks, then you can get into a rhythm with that group. But we havent been able to do that because it seems like its different people every other game.After beating the Timberwolves on Saturday night, the Spurs have won four of their past five games. A win in Washington on Tuesday would give them their first three-game winning streak in more than a month.A modest achievement like that is hardly something these level-headed Spurs would celebrate. But their uneven start to the season, and the incredible level of competition in the Western Conference playoff field this year, has put them in this position. So as they have done so many times before, they are adjusting their approach, and trying to ramp things up a little earlier than they normally would.We need to get on a rhythm, get some chemistry going, guard Danny Green said. And putting some games together would be nice.___Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter: http://twitter.com/APKrawczynski Cheap Joe Morgan Jersey .ca! 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This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick.Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James scored 34 points with a full line and the rest of the Cavaliers core shined in Clevelands 108-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. James netted at least 25 points for the seventh straight game and contributed seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks as Cleveland extended its season-long win streak to six games. Were a confident bunch, but were a humble bunch, said James. We have to continue to work. Kevin Love got back on track in a big way on Sunday, tallying 19 points and 13 rebounds while hitting 5-of-7 from behind the arc, and Kyrie Irving scored 21 points. Love had been 4-for-21 from 3-point range over his last six games. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both neared triple-doubles in the loss, but Westbrooks 7-for-26 shooting and just six combined points from starters Kendrick Perkins and Andre Roberson were too much for Oklahoma City to overcome. We missed some shots, said Durant. We had some good looks but we missed them. I think we played a good game. We pretty much did whatever we wanted, but they came out on top. They hit some big shots. Durant posted 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds and Westbrook finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine boards. Dion Waiters, who spent the first two-plus seasons in Cleveland before a trade on Jan. 7 sent him to the Thunder, added 14 points oon 5-of-15 off the bench in his return to Quicken Loans Arena.dddddddddddd Cleveland shot 6-for-21 in the first quarter and trailed 26-20 after one, but flipped the script with a dominant second period. James scored seven points during a 10-2 push to open the period that put the Cavs in front. It was tied with 4:59 left in the half after Westbrook sank a pair of free throws, but consecutive treys by J.R. Smith and Irving and an Irving runner had Cleveland on top 46-38. James layup eight seconds before halftime gave him 22 first-half points and sent the Cavaliers into the break leading 57-49. James only took one shot and didnt score in the third, but Love helped carry the load by connecting on all three of his tries from distance. Oklahoma City briefly took the lead twice late in the frame on layups from Westbrook and Waiters, but a 16-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters helped Cleveland regain control. James capped the flurry with a deep 3-pointer right in front of Waiters that gave the Cavs a 91-80 lead with under 10 minutes left. The margin never dipped under eight down the stretch. Game Notes The Thunder had been 10-1 in their previous 11 games against the Eastern Conference ... Smith had 14 points and Tristan Thompson grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds off the bench for Cleveland. 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