James, Love carry Cavaliers past Suns

(The Sports Xchange) – LeBron James had 21 points and nine assists and forward Kevin Love had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 115-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Rookie guard Devin Booker scored 16 points for the Suns, who have lost their last 12 road games and 16 of their last 18 overall.

The Cavs scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to blow the game open.

The Suns committed turnovers on four of their first five possessions in the quarter and went scoreless for the first three minutes of the second half, allowing the Cavs to open a 17-point lead.

Cleveland stretched the lead to 28 and were never threatened.

Guards J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving each had two steals in the third quarter and the Suns committed nine turnovers in the quarter — nearly as many as they had in the first half (10).

Smith scored 18 points and center Timofey Mozgov had 10 off the bench. Irving finished with eight points, three assists and three turnovers.

Forward P.J. Tucker had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Suns. Forward Markieff Morris scored 13 points off the bench.

The win capped an emotional day for James, who earlier fired back at critics who have labeled him a coach killer.