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
Matt Kuchar lost his father in February and ends the year with emotional PNC victory with his son
- The tournament that is all about family and fun ended with Kuchar wiping away tears as his voice cracked while speaking about how much it meant without his father, who died in February
- Cameron Kuchar, who was able to use one tee box forward as a high school student, hammered another drive and watched his father hit 7-iron to 18 inches
- The PNC Championship, which began in 1995 as the Father-Son Challenge, is for major champions and their children
ORLANDO, Fla.: Matt Kuchar couldn't imagine a better ending to a year when he lost his father than to finally win the PNC Championship with his son.
There was no stopping them Sunday in a record-smashing performance that led to an 18-under 54 and a whopping seven-shot victory.
The tournament that is all about family and fun ended with Kuchar wiping away tears as his voice cracked while speaking about how much it meant without his father, who died in February.
The finish was simply surreal to him.
Cameron Kuchar, who was able to use one tee box forward as a high school student, hammered another drive and watched his father hit 7-iron to 18 inches. Kuchar gave his son the honor of tapping in for the final touch on an unforgettable week for the Kuchar family.
“I don’t know if you believe in karma, if you believe in fate, whatever you believe in, there’s something magical that does exist,” Kuchar said as tears began to form. “I’m a believer in God that Dad is up above looking down, and what happened on 18, I could hardly stand up and hit a shot. For me to hit it to a foot, makes me think there’s something more out there. Just miss Pops.”
Peter Kuchar, who at one time was the top-ranked doubles tennis player in Florida, first became a presence on the golf scene when he caddied for his son when Kuchar won the US Amateur in 1997, and when he was low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open the following year.
He played with Kuchar at the PNC Championship before yielding the stage to Kuchar's sons.
Peter Kuchar died in February of a heart attack while swimming when he was on a Caribbean cruise with his wife, Meg, to celebrate her birthday.
Kuchar and his son each got the Willie Park Trophy, a red belt that Kuchar jokingly said would wear well with his tartan jacket he won from Harbour Town at the RBC Heritage.
The PNC Championship, which began in 1995 as the Father-Son Challenge, is for major champions and their children. It has been expanded over the years to include The Players Championship winners, senior and LPGA major champions. Players have brought parents or daughters.
Kuchar, who won The Players Championship in 2012, said he keeps photos to go with the trophies from most of his nine PGA Tour victories. In early victories he could hold both sons. And then they were too big too hold. The most recent photo taken Sunday afternoon leaves him heartbroken.
“And now to have this shot with the family, it’s clearly missing ... missing one,” he said, pausing because his voice was so choked with emotion. “But it’s special, very special.”
So was their golf, and it was a runaway from the start. Cameron Kuchar, who has signed to play for TCU next year, birdied the first hole and his father hit hybrid to 12 feet for eagle on the third.
They made only two pars in the scramble format and countered that with two eagles. They finished at 33-under 111 to break the tournament record by five shots.
Lee Trevino delivered the highlight when the 86-year-old holed out from the fairway with a lob wedge for eagle on the 13th hole.
John Daly and John Daly II, a senior at Arkansas and the Southern Amateur champion, made eagle on the last hole for a 59 to tie for second with Davis Love III and Dru Love (58). Nelly Korda and her father, and Steve Stricker and his daughter, finished another shot behind.
All of them looked at scoreboards coming in and saw there was no chance of catching the Kuchars, certainly not on this day.
“If they end up getting to 30 (under), you’re talking about only six holes missed in 36 holes. That’s remarkable,” Duval said.
Turns out the Kuchar duo was even better — 36 holes, 33 under. Fate or otherwise, it was some remarkable golf. Twice before, they held the lead going into the final day and didn't hold it. On Sunday they started with a two-shot lead and ran away with it. It was their time.
