ORLANDO, Florida: After another embarrassing defeat and two days before the trade deadline, LeBron James let it be known he’s not going anywhere, at least for now.
“I’m here for this season right now to try and figure out a way we can still compete,” James said after his Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 21-point lead in a 116-98 loss to the Orlando Magic. “I owe it to my teammates to finish this season out no matter how it ends up. I would never waive my no-trade clause.”
The Cavaliers fell apart in the second half and lost for the 14th time in 21 games. They have given up an average of 122.4 points in their last five losses.
“I couldn’t give up on my teammates like that. I just couldn’t do it,” James said after scoring 25 points. “We put too much into the game every single day.
“This is no time to be ashamed about our season,” he added. “We’ve got quite a few games left. If we’re still serious about the season, then we’ve got to play some good ball at some point.”
Jonathon Simmons scored 22 of his career-high 34 points in the third quarter for the Magic, who broke a nine-game home-court losing streak against Cleveland.
The Cavaliers scored 43 points in the first quarter, but then went almost 6½ minutes without scoring in the fourth. They played the second half without coach Tyronn Lue, who went to the locker room in the second quarter with what the team said was an illness.
“It’s like right now, when we hit adversity, we go our separate ways,” guard Isaiah Thomas said. “And that’s just how I feel and it looks like that as well.”
The Magic made their first 10 shots of the second half and won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 8-10.
James did not have a rebound or an assist in a foul-plagued second half.
“I gave my teammates some opportunities to knock ‘em down, but they just didn’t go. You can’t get assists when they don’t go down, but that doesn’t stop me from finding my guys on the floor,” he said. “At this point it’s not what you say, it’s what you do. We’ve got to go out and play well as a collective group, everyone hitting at the right time on all cylinders, and right now we’re not doing that.”
Simmons made seven of eight shots in his 22-point quarter, finishing the period with a 3-point buzzer shot in a game in which he almost did not play because of a sprained right ankle.
“To be honest, adrenaline was just going and I didn’t even realize what was going on,” Simmons said. “I was just trying to play hard and trying not to have another setback.”
J.R. Smith made three 3-pointers in the first four minutes to help the Cavaliers (30-22) take a 15-4 lead, and they led by 21 points late in the first half.
Jeff Green dunked to put the Cavaliers up 61-40 with 4:50 left in the half, but they went scoreless for almost four minutes while the Magic (17-36) sliced nine points off the lead.
James opened the second half with a couple of 3-pointers to regain a 16-point lead for Cleveland, but Simmons scored 12 points during the Magic’s 19-2 run that gave them their first lead of the game at 78-77 with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
James was called for his fourth foul just 17 seconds later and sat for more than seven minutes.
When he re-entered the game with 10:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Magic ran off 14 straight points to lead 108-92.
Dwyane Wade banked in a 3-pointer for Cleveland’s only points in the first 7:25 of the fourth quarter.
Magic stun reeling Cavaliers as LeBron James says he’s staying put
Magic stun reeling Cavaliers as LeBron James says he’s staying put
Pineau leads by 1 as Vecchi Fossa stars at Hilton Classic in Tangier
- Leaders hit a 2-under-par 70 in what proved arguably the most challenging conditions of the MENA Golf Tour season so far
TANGIER: France’s Pierre Pineau holds a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Hilton Classic at Al-Houara Golf Club in Tangier after battling to a two-under-par 70 in arguably the most challenging conditions of the MENA Golf Tour season so far.
Italy’s Jacopo Vecchi Fossa produced a stunning six-under 66 to storm into contention despite the torrential afternoon rain.
Pineau, who began the day on three-under par, made four birdies against two bogeys to move to five under overall and head a congested leaderboard.
He navigated the morning conditions well enough, reaching the turn one-under for his round, before digging deep on the back nine as the weather deteriorated sharply.
“On the back nine I just fought as hard as I could,” Pineau said. “The rain was not so much about distance, it was more about the ball sliding on the face on chips and wedges. I have played in tough, changing weather before so I felt comfortable adapting.”
“It would mean a lot to win because I have struggled over the last 12 months, so it would be a big boost of confidence,” he added. “After today my confidence is in a good place.”
Three players share second place on four-under par. England’s Curtis Knipes carded a composed 71, making birdies at the ninth, 13th and 15th to offset bogeys at the first and 17th and maintain his challenge.
Pakistan’s Aadam Syed also signed for a 71, his four birdies countered by three dropped shots in a battling round he described as a constant test of patience.
“It was a real battle out there today,” Syed said. “Yesterday was windy but it eased over the last six holes and you could start firing at flags. Today it was constant all day, so patience was key.”
Syed, who had his father on the bag, is chasing a first title. “To win on the MENA Golf Tour would mean a great deal,” he said. “I have not won as a professional yet, so to tick that off would be huge and would confirm to myself that I am good enough.”
The third member of the second-place trio was the story of the day. Fossa, who started on the first tee, produced a flawless six-under 66, featuring four birdies and an eagle at the 10th, all without a bogey despite the increasingly brutal afternoon conditions.
“Honestly, I don’t really know how I did it,” Vecchi Fossa said. “On the back nine it was rain and wind the whole way and I was hitting hybrid and three wood into par fours straight into the wind. It was crazy out there.
“The hardest part was gripping the club with so much water, but I managed to hit a lot of fairways and the putts went in, which made the difference.”
France’s Andoni Etchenique and overnight leader Aron Zemmer, who slipped back with a two-over 74, share fifth place on three-under par.
Ireland’s Alex Maguire, the round one co-leader, dropped two shots to sit at two under with New Zealand’s Luke Kidd and Ireland’s Paul McBride in a tie for seventh.
Ayoub Lguirati remains the highest-placed Moroccan heading into the final round, the home favorite signing for a 74 to sit on two-over par in a share of 20th place, with compatriots Ayoub Ssouadi and Issam Nakrou also making the cut.
The final round of the Hilton Classic gets underway on Wednesday, with the $100,000 prize fund and Official World Golf Ranking points on the line.
