struck on the right ear by a liner hit by Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer on

CLEVELAND - Kevin Loves first meeting with his former team wasnt packed with much emotion.LeBron James expects a much different reunion on Christmas.Love scored 20 points in his first game against Minnesota, Kyrie Irving added 29 and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the second half for a 125-104 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday night, sending them on to James holiday visit in Miami to play the Heat.Loves matchup with the team he spent six frustrating seasons with before a summer blockbuster trade was overshadowed by an injury to Cleveland centre Anderson Varejao, who had to be helped off the floor in the third quarter. Varejao was unable to put any weight on his left leg as he was assisted to the locker room.The Cavs wont know more about Varejaos injury until Wednesday. He left Quicken Loans Arena on crutches with his leg in an immobilizing air cast.James added 24 points for the Cavs, now 12-3 since opening 5-7.Minnesota rookie Andrew Wiggins scored 27 against the team that drafted him as the Timberwolves lost their sixth straight and 12th in 13 games.Wiggins was taken with the first pick in this years draft by the Cavaliers before he was packaged along with former top pick Anthony Bennett and sent to Minnesota for Love, who joined James and Irving to give Cleveland a Big Three capable of winning an NBA title.Love, who grabbed 10 rebounds and played much of the second half with his right thumb taped, said the matchup against the Timberwolves lacked passion.I didnt really feel much of anything to be honest with you, he said. It felt like just another game. It was a game we felt like we needed to win before going to South Florida for Christmas.On Thursday, James will return to face the Heat, the team he helped lead to two championships and four straight appearances in the finals.James has been looking forward to returning to his other NBA home.To say I havent thought about going back, I would be lying, he said. Its going to be great to be back in that building around those unbelievable fans and the memories will definitely come back being a part of the organization for four years. When it gets here Im going to be excited about it and re-live a lot of moments in my head and go from there.The Cavs led 82-70 in the third before closing the period with a 16-1 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from James and Dion Waiters to finally overwhelm the young and scrappy Timberwolves.Love figures to have a tougher time when he returns to Minnesota for the first time on Jan. 31, a game coach Flip Saunders believes many Timberwolves fans circled on their calendars long ago. Saunders said Minnesotans dont easily forgive anyone who has not been loyal to them.Love cant concern himself with any negative reaction.I try to stay off that stuff, Love said. I know when somebody leaves, they more often than not dont want to say good things about him.Following the game, Love hugged Saunders and several Minnesota coaches and team personnel.Those are guys I will have relationships with through my whole career and really beyond, he said. You never know when youll link back up with those people. Those are relationships I really cherish, whether they were one year or six years.TIP-INSTimberwolves: Minnesotas top three players — guard Ricky Rubio (sprained ankle), centre Nikola Pekovic (sprained ankle), and guard Kevin Martin (broken wrist) — have played in 23 combined games due to injuries. ... G Mo Williams received a nice ovation when he entered the game for the first time. He spent three seasons with Cleveland. ... The matchup featured four No. 1 overall draft picks: Wiggins (2014), Bennett (2013), Irving (2011) and James (2003).Cavaliers: Waiters added 19 points, his second straight strong game. ... The Cavs have won nine of 10 at home. ... F Mike Miller started but picked up three fouls in a span of 38 seconds in the first and only played nine minutes. ... Cleveland is 8-0 when shooting 50 per cent or better.PICK YOUR SUPERSTARWiggins said defending James wasnt as tough as trying to stop Kobe Bryant.For me as a defender, I would say Kobe, he said. Kobe has been the toughest matchup for me this year. The Timberwolves defeated the Lakers 120-119 in Los Angeles on Nov. 28. Bryant scored 26 points, Wiggins had 16.James had some high praise for Wiggins.Hes a great talent, James said. Very poised and very efficient. They got a great piece.UP NEXT:Timberwolves: At Denver on Friday.Cavaliers: At Miami on Thursday. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . Balotelli was out at dinner with his brother Enoch and came home to discover he had been burgled. The car was later found abandoned. Balotelli wrote Saturday on Twitter: "I feel empty! No emotions . China Shoes 2020 .Voegele will next play Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who saved 10 of 16 break points to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-4.Also, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. https://www.wholesaleshoesusa.com/ . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. Discount Shoes For Sale . Philippe Desrosiers stopped 42 shots through overtime and three more in the shootout to pick up his third shutout of the season for Rimouski (31-15-7). Zachary Fucale made 28 saves for Halifax (34-17-3) in the loss. Wholesale Shoes Authentic .ca. In addition to the game being aired in its entirety on CTV Two Vancouver Island and TSN.ca, TSN2 will also have coverage of Whitecaps FC immediately following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- J.A. Happ had a successful return to Florida three months after a scary injury. Happ won in his first game at Tropicana Field since getting hit in the head by a ball and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 on Saturday. "It was great," Happ said. "I was looking forward to it. Probably havent pitched the best here and I was looking forward to having the opportunity to come and try and change that up a little bit. Have a good game. Keep us in the game." Happ (3-2), who suffered a skull fracture and sprained right knee when he fell to the ground after getting hit with a liner by Desmond Jennings on May 7, allowed two runs and five hits over 5 1-3 innings. It was his third start overall since returning from the disabled list. "I thought Happ pitched really well," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Youve got to congratulate him, based on what happened to him previously, how difficult that may have been. A big part of our problem tonight was how well he pitched. I thought his stuff was really good, maybe as good as Ive seen him." It was Happs first victory since beating Kansas City on April 12. "He threw great," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. Adam Lind homered twice for the Blue Jays. Jose Bautista hit his 28th homer of the season. Happ retired nine in a row before Jason Bourgeois opened the fourth with a bunt single down the first base line. Happ fielded the bunt and landed hard on his right knee while shovelling the ball to first from his glove. The left-hander stayed in the game after making a couple of warmup throws. "I kind of landed on the kneecap there, pushed it in," Happ said. "I just needed a couple minutes to let it die down. It was fine after that." Ben Zobrist hit a sacrifice fly and Yunel Escobar had a run-scoring single later in the fourth to get Tampa Bay within 3-2. Bautista put the Blue Jays up 1-0 on a solo shot off Roberto Hernandez (6-13) in the first. Edwin Encarnacion drove in a run with a grounder and Brrett Lawrie had an RBI single as Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the third.dddddddddddd Lind had a solo shot and Lawrie scored a nifty base running play to put the Blue Jays ahead 5-2 in the sixth. Lawrie was on second and took off for third, catching reliever Alex Torres off guard. The Rays left-hander made a last-second errant throw to third that allowed Lawrie to score. "He did it on his own," Gibbons said. "He caught the guy sleeping out there, and we caught a break throwing it away. Brett, hes feeling good about himself." Lind added a solo drive in the eighth. He move past Ernie Whitt (131) into eighth place on the Blue Jays career home run list with 133. Hernandez gave up five runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings. Happs outing came two days after Tampa Bays Alex Cobb allowed one run over five innings in the Rays 7-1 victory over Seattle, his first big league game since being hit in the head by a batted ball two months ago. Cobb sustained a concussion after being struck on the right ear by a liner hit by Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer on June 15 at Tropicana Field. With a win Sunday, the Blue Jays will win a road series against Tampa Bay for the first time since April 2007. That information was written on a message board in the Toronto clubhouse. "Roy Halladay couldnt beat Tampa," Lind said. "Obviously we know how hard it is to come in here and not just winning a series, but winning a game." NOTES: Blue Jays SS Jose Reyes was out of the lineup with right knee soreness and is not expected back until Tuesday. ... Tampa Bay placed DH Luke Scott on the 15-day DL due to lower back spasms and reinstated RHP Brandon Gomes (strained right lat) from the 60-day DL. ... OF Wil Myers was the Rays DH for the third consecutive game, but should play in the field Sunday. Maddon said Myers is physically fine, and that the rookie handles the DH role well. Maddon added its also an opportunity to keep Myers off his feet. ... Jennings is on the DL with a broken left middle finger, but could return Monday. ' ' '