Francisco Liriano (6-9, 4.96 ERA) will begin a two-game | Forum
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Two teams heading in opposite directions meet Friday when the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Dallas Mavericks. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . The Cavaliers own the best record in the Eastern Conference and are coming off a historic performance Wednesday, while the Mavericks have lost seven straight for the first time since 1999 -- Dirk Nowitzkis rookie season.The Cavaliers set an area record for a regular-season game by scoring 137 points in Wednesdays win against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most points any Cleveland team has scored since dropping 141 on Charlotte in 1992.Kevin Love was a big reason why. His 34 points in the first quarter Wednesday are the second-most points scored by one player in a quarter in NBA history, trailing only Klay Thompsons 37-point outburst against the Sacramento Kings during the 2014-15 season. Love only took six shots the rest of the night Wednesday, highlighting his recurring problem. No matter how well he plays, he rarely gets to touch the ball in the second half.Still, Love is more comfortable in this system now than he has ever been and a large reason for that is head coach Tyronn Lue, who made it a point of emphasis to get Love into his comfort zone earlier in games. The first play every game is designed to be a look for Love in the post, Lue revealed. Love kept reiterating throughout his first season in Cleveland that he is most effective when he gets a couple post touches early before working his way to the 3-point line. He was largely ignored, however, until Lue took over midway through last season and began listening to him.I didnt do anything magical, Lue said. Hes playing great ... Just try to get him the ball when he has matchups or just keep him involved, keep him engaged.The Cavaliers rank third in the league in scoring (110.8 points per game), they lead the league in 3-pointers per game (13.5) and theyve made at least 10 3s in every game this season -- an NBA record they continue to extend.The Mavericks, meanwhile, have been reeling from injuries and are in the midst of a brutal stretch in the schedule.Nowitzki is back after missing eight games with an Achilles injury, but he has played in four of Dallas first 16 games. Deron Williams has missed the last four games with a calf injury that has limited him to just 10 minutes over the last eight games.As our health gets better, were going to have a chance to make it better, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. But were going to have to make it better.Williams should be back soon, but the fear now is that the Mavericks hole is already to deep to escape. The game against the Cavaliers concludes a wicked 96 hours when they faced the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers and now Cleveland.Weve been worried about that (record), Williams told the Dallas Morning News. Were, what, (2-12)? Thats tough in the West. Thats definitely a concern of ours, for sure. Youd be lying to say it wasnt. Its something were definitely conscious of, and we got to turn around. NBA Jerseys Outlet . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Wholesale NBA Jerseys Store . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. http://www.cheapjerseysnba.com/ . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. PITTSBURGH -- Vince Velasquez didnt have his best stuff, the Philadelphia Phillies lost another player to injury and the Pittsburgh Pirates got a big hit from the unlikeliest of sources.The woes continued for the Phillies at PNC Park on Sunday, with Philadelphia losing to Pittsburgh 5-4, dropping their three-game series two games to one.The Phillies have now lost three consecutive series in Pittsburgh with just one win in that span. Since PNC Park opened in 2001, they are 16-31 at the home of their in-state rival.Diminutive Pirates rookie utilityman Adam Frazier hit a pinch-hit home run off reliever Edubray Ramos in the seventh inning to complete Pittsburghs come-from-behind victory. It was Fraziers first major league home run and first time going deep since Sept. 5, when he was with Double-A Altoona.But even before Fraziers improbable heroics, things werent going well for the Phillies. Usually reliable starter Velasquez gave up four runs while taking 107 pitches to get through six innings.Just looking at his body language, he showed that he was struggling to find the strike zone, manager Pete Mackanin said. He didnt have his best location. He did a good job; he just made a couple bad pitches when they scored the two runs. Obviously, he wasnt at his best, but he kept us in the game.In the sixth inning, Velasquez gave up a double to Starling Marte on a 0-2 pitch that quickly sent things off the rails. It was followed by a first-pitch, two-run home run by Matt Joyce that tied the game.Thats just a matter of finishing at-bats, Velasquez said. Youve got to lock in on 0-2 counts when youre ahead. Youve got to finish the at-bat. Knowing that that was my last inning, thats where you have to bear down and give it all youve got.The Pirates also scored a pair in the second inning. Marte led with a single and Elias Diaz drove him in with a groundout to record his first career RBI. Sean Rodriguez then drove in Joyce with a double to center.Philadelphias early offense came on a pair of solo home runs from Odubel Herrera and Andres Blanco that -- along with a two-run third inning -- helped the Phillies build a 4-2 lead. In the third, Velasquez singled off his mound opponent, Jameson Taillon, and Cesar Hernandez drove him in with a triple off the wall in center field. Stitched Nike NBA Jerseys. Hernandez then came around to score on Herreras groundout.Cesar came through for us, Mackanin said of the three-hit afternoon by his second baseman. The home run by Herrera was nice to see. We just need to score more runs.Fraziers home run made a winner of reliever Neftali Feliz (4-0). Mark Melancon earned his 30th save. The game was delayed an hour and 32 minutes by a thunderstorm in the bottom of the eighth inning.ANOTHER LOSSIn a series that had already seen Maikel Franco and Cameron Rupp miss time after being hit by pitches, Blanco was injured on a seemingly routine play in the fifth inning. With Gregory Polanco attempting to steal third, Blanco took the throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz and put the tag down, only to have Polanco land on his glove as he slid. Blanco has a fractured left index finger that required four stitches.Thats going to hurt us, Mackanin said. We always could rely on him to play solid defense, come up with big hits. Anywhere we put him, he plays solid defense. Hes just a great guy to have around.TRAINING ROOMPhillies: Franco replaced Blanco at third base. It was his first action since being removed from Fridays game after being hit by a pitch in his wrist. He went 1 for 2 at the plate. ... C Rupp did not play as a precaution after being hit in the head with a pitch Saturday. Concussion tests done Saturday night and before the game Sunday were negative.Pirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game with shoulder discomfort.UP NEXTPhillies: Jeremy Hellickson (7-7, 3.84 ERA) will start a three-game set in Miami. In his last seven starts, hes walked just seven batters and has a 0.98 WHIP while lowering his ERA by half a run. The Phillies enter the series 9 1/2 games behind the Marlins for the final NL Wild Card spot.Pirates: Francisco Liriano (6-9, 4.96 ERA) will begin a two-game series against the Seattle Mariners after an off day Monday. The Pirates have rearranged their starting rotation to keep Liriano and Gerrit Cole on as close to five days of rest as possible during a stretch where they have four days off in a three-week span. ' ' '
