Mar 3, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles past Atlanta Hawks guard Malcolm Delaney (5) in the second quarter of their game at Philips Arena. Photo Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
MIAMI — Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue decided to rest All-Stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving on Saturday night, playing without them against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The absence of James, who won two NBA titles with the Heat before bolting back to his original team, the Cavaliers, in the summer of 2014, surely disappointed many Miami fans. And it’s happened before – this is the second time in Cleveland’s past three visits in which the Cavaliers opted to rest James.
Lue, though, chose to rest James on Saturday after he scored 38 points in 39 draining minutes on Friday in a 135-130 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Irving scored 43 points in 36 minutes in that game. Without James and Irving, Cleveland started Iman Shumpert, Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson, Deron Williams and James Jones.
–The Cavaliers signed forward Derrick Williams to a contract for the remainder of the season, the team announced.
Williams, 25, played out the last of consecutive 10-day contracts. He signed a $268,000 deal before Saturday night’s game at the Miami Heat, who waived him in early February.
The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Williams has appeared in nine games with the Cavs this season, averaging 10.3 points on .561 shooting from the field and 3.1 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per gamet. The three-time All-Star originally signed with the Cavs on Feb. 9, the first of two 10-day contracts. Before joining Cleveland, he played in 25 games (11 starts) with the Heat and averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.1 minutes.
–The Milwaukee Bucks signed forward Terrence Jones to a contract for the remainder of the season, the team announced.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Toupane was signed to a 10-day contract on Feb. 25. Jones, 25, appeared in 51 games (12 starts) with the New Orleans Pelicans this season and posted averages of 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 24.8 minutes per contest before being waived on Feb. 23.
Currently in his fifth NBA season, Jones has played in 229 games and averaged 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. He spent his first four NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets and also played with Rio Grande of the NBA Development League.
