Pirate Galaxy » rday. Banister expects him to start Tuesd

CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving had a big game. LeBron James returned to the court. And the Cleveland Cavaliers put it all together Friday night.Irving scored 25 points and James, returning to the lineup after sitting out a game, added 21 to help the Cavaliers rolled past the Detroit Pistons 104-81.Offensively and defensively it was the best weve played all year, as far as close to 48 minutes, said James, who rested Wednesday night in a loss at Indiana.James, made 9 of 14 shots and played only 28 minutes. Irving was 11 of 15 from the field with 11 assists -- one short of his career high -- in 29 minutes.Following a slow start that saw Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue call a timeout less than 2 minutes into the game after the Pistons hit a pair of wide-open 3-pointers.Lue only smiled when asked for specifics about what he told the players, but he was clearly unhappy.He didnt like our effort to start the game, James said. We got the message and we were able to change it around.He didnt need to tell us much, Irving said. We all understood.Cleveland led by 11 at the end of the first quarter, took a 56-39 lead into halftime and continued to dominate. The Cavaliers built the lead to 33 points in the fourth quarter, allowing Lue to rest his starters for the entire final period. The defending NBA champions dont play again until Wednesday night.J.R. Smith, who returned after missing three games with a sprained right ankle, hit three 3-pointers and moved past the Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki into 15th place on the NBAs career list for 3s.Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, who was unhappy with his teams defense and rebounding in Wednesdays loss to New York, benched his starters for the fourth quarter.There is no takeaway from tonight, we got crushed, Van Gundy said. We were just awful.Cleveland was 11 of 25 on 3-pointers and has reached double figures in all 12 games, an NBA record to start the season.Kevin Love scored 12 points and had 14 rebounds, and Tristan Thompson also had 14 rebounds.Lues early timeout paid off when Smith hit three 3-pointers, and James and Tristan Thompson scored on dunks.Jon Leuer led Detroit with 15 points. The Pistons starting five of Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith combined for only 37 points.Their guys all played really, really hard, Van Gundy said. We need to find people that play that hard.TIP-INSPistons: Harris was hit with a technical foul in the second quarter. ... Van Gundy plans on sticking with a nine-man rotation until his team is at full strength. G Reggie Jackson is still rehabbing from surgery on his left knee and hasnt played this season.Cavaliers: James had three assists and is four away from passing Guy Rodgers for 17th on the career list. .... Cleveland blocked eight shots, including four by Thompson. .... G Mike Dunleavy, who didnt play against Indiana, entered the game in the second quarter. He scored five points.TAKE A BREAKThe Cavaliers wont practice the next two days, which will provide a much-welcome rest.I cant remember when I had it like this in a season, James said. Were going to take full advantage of it.Its very important for our team, Lue said. Guys should feel refreshed and healthy.UP NEXTPistons: Host Celtics on Saturday night. Detroit is 5-0 at The Palace of Auburn Hills this season.Cavaliers: Host Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.Roquan Smith Jersey . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Mike Ditka Bears Jersey . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.bearsrookiestore.com/Bears-Mike-Ditka-Jersey/ . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Gale Sayers Womens Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Roquan Smith Womens Jersey . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta.CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs came out of the All-Star break showing signs that their midseason skid is done.Right-hander John Lackey pitched well enough Sunday to end his own winless streak, except he ran into Cole Hamels at a park where he has some strong recent history.Lackey allowed four runs and six hits in eight innings, but Hamels dominated for eight innings in his first game at Wrigley Field since throwing a no-hitter at the famed ballpark a year ago to help the Texas Rangers beat the Cubs 4-1.Lackeys winless streak reached seven starts, and he is 14-16 in 41 starts against Texas, the team hes faced most often in his career.I was honestly pretty happy about the way I threw the ball, Lackey (7-6) said. Threw eight innings and definitely not a good day to pitch.Hamels (10-2) struck out his first six batters. He fanned seven overall and gave up just an unearned run on four hits.Last summer, the lefty threw a no-hitter and struck out 13 at Wrigley in his final start for Philadelphia. He was then traded to the Rangers.Sundays win gave AL West-leading Texas its first victory since the All-Star break after it dropped two straight to the Cubs. Texas had lost four consecutive overall.I got 10 days of rest. You get a whole week of rest, I guess that helps, Hamels said. I know its the second half, want to start off right. This is now the go time.Sam Dyson struck out three in the ninth for his 19th save in 21 chances.Ian Desmond homered and Robinson Chirinos drove in two runs for Texas. The Cubs had won three in a row since dropping nine of 10.Hamels fanned the side in the first two innings. The streak ended when Matt Szczur popped out and Albert Almora Jr. reached on third baseman Adrian Beltres error in the third. Javier Baez doubled home a run.He likes Wrigley, doesnt he? Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Hamels. The way he started out, it looks like, here we go all over again. And then we started putting the ball in play. We just didnt really have any hard contact consistently, but he was good.Elvis Andrus RBI single and Chirinos sacrifice fly put the Rangers ahead in the seccond.dddddddddddd Almora made a leaping catch in center field to rob Chirinos of extra bases.Chirinos hit an RBI double after Lackey walked the first two batters in the fourth.Desmond led off the eighth with his 16th home run.The Cubs got back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the seventh before a double play and groundout ended the rally.Lackey argued with home plate umpire Cory Blaser after the top of the sixth before right fielder Jason Heyward got between them. Maddon then addressed Blaser. Lackey declined to go into details of the chat.Theyre talking about Christmas cards for next year, Maddon joked. Just let John vent a little bit. Hes fine.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: OF Shin-Soo Choo (back) was out of the lineup for a third straight game, but manager Jeff Banister said the team isnt considering putting him on the disabled list just yet. It still seems to bother him when hes throwing, Banister said. ... RHP Kyle Lohse (strained oblique) threw a pain-free bullpen session Saturday. Banister expects him to start Tuesday at the Angels.GOOD BREAKCubs RHP Jake Arrieta didnt pitch in Tuesdays All-Star Game -- and the rest was just what he needed, he said. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has allowed 10 runs in 11 1/3 innings in July.Sometimes you need that mental down time, said Arrieta, who is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Mets. Spending time with (son) Cooper and my family was tremendous. I picked up the ball for the first time in four or five days and threw the best `pen Ive thrown all year.UP NEXTRangers: RHP A.J. Griffin (3-1, 3.81 ERA) is scheduled to start Mondays opener of a three-game series at the Angels, who are expected to start RHP Nick Tropeano (3-2, 3.12).Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (9-4, 3.01) is scheduled to start Mondays opener of a three-game set against the visiting Mets and LHP Steven Matz (7-5, 3.38). Lester allowed a season-high eight runs in a career-low 1 1/3 innings in his other start against New York this season. ' ' '