NEW YORK—LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers turned a close game into a clinic after Prince William and his wife, Kate, took courtside seats to watch them, beating the Brooklyn Nets, 110-88, on Monday in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Cleveland outscored Brooklyn, 49-27, after Britain’s royal couple arrived to cameras flashing, fans roaring and a deadlocked game.
“Yeah, they brought luck to us,” James said.
And then James brought gifts to them. He gave the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge cupcakes from a bakery in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, and a couple of Cavaliers jerseys: one for their son (Kate is expecting their second child) and another that read “Cambridge” on the back.
“It was their first time watching a basketball game, so it was an honor that I would be that guy they decided they wanted to watch,” James said.
Kevin Love was shooting free throws when the royal couple emerged from a tunnel into the stands with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter. Perhaps distracted by the loud roar, Love missed the second badly, leaving the game level at 61-61.
“It was a little bit more of a distraction than people waving towels or waving whatever it is that they do,” Love said. “Yes, it was big distraction. I just tried to make the second shot and it ended up being about a foot short.”
But James, putting on a show that few others could, threw some sharp passes to go with his nine points in the period and the Cavs cruised from there to their seventh straight victory.
He finished with 18 points after joining Kyrie Irving and some Nets players in wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirts during warmups.
That would’ve been the story most nights, but he had to share it with the royals’ arrival during their first visit to New York. They met earlier in the game with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, celebrating a partnership between the Royal Foundation and the league to raise awareness about the importance of international wildlife conservation.
The buzz built as officials began gathering near the tunnel at halftime for the couple, and it may have amped up James, who had a quiet first half but took his game to another level in front of William and Kate, a day after saying it was an “honor” to have them watch him play.
James’s biggest statement before then came during the pregame lay-up line. He and Irving, along with Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and two other Nets, wore warmup shirts in support of the family of Eric Garner, who died on July 17 after a police officer placed him in a chokehold when he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A recording of Garner’s arrest showed him gasping, “I can’t breathe” during the fatal encounter, and thousands have protested a grand jury decision not to indict the officer since the announcement on Wednesday.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry overcame a rare off night from long range to post 21 points and seven assists as Golden State downed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 102-86, for their 13th consecutive win.
Curry missed six of his seven three-point attempts, but the top-ranked Warriors’s defense forced the short-handed Timberwolves to shoot 36 percent and turn the ball over 19 times to improve to an NBA-best 18-2. Klay Thompson added 21 points and the Warriors left holding their breath after Andrew Bogut left with a knee injury early in the first quarter.
In Indianapolis Al Horford scored 25 points and Jeff Teague added 21 as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers, 108-92.
Kyle Korver added 13 points for Atlanta, which has won eight of its last nine games and seven straight.
CJ Miles and Rodney Stuckey each scored 15 points to lead Indiana (7-14). Luis Scola came off the bench to score 12.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Denver Nuggets, 112-107, in overtime after Kyle Lowry had 13 points and 13 assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Lou Williams scored 26 points and Amir Johnson had 18 for the Raptors, who trailed by five points with less than three minutes to play but got a game-tying three-pointer from Patrick Patterson with 28 seconds left.
In other games, John Wall scored 26 points, including the last 10, as the Washington Wizards rallied to beat the Boston Bruins, 133-132, in double overtime; the Sacramento Kings defeated the Utah Jazz, 101-92; and the Los Angeles Clippers were 121-120 overtime winners over the Phoenix Suns.
Image credits: AP