Funkerstation » er Drew Butler still in a walking boot due

Kyrie Irving, Karl-Anthony Towns and Tony Parker all looked regular-season ready in their first action of the preseason.LeBron James and Irving each scored 15 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-105 on Saturday night.After hitting the go-ahead shot in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and then winning a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team, Irving was given the night off in Clevelands opener.Towns, the unanimous Rookie of the Year, looks ready for a huge second season after having 20 points and 10 rebounds in Minnesotas 109-100 victory over Miami.Parker had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in a victory over Atlanta after sitting out San Antonios opener.---CAVALIERS 108, 76ERS 105CLEVELAND -- Jordan McRae came off the bench for 20 points, including the clinching free throws, for the Cavs.Joel Embiid had 12 points in 13 minutes of his third preseason game.76ERS: Rookie Dario Saric shot 1 for 7 and had four points. ... Richaun Holmes had 19 points and Sergio Rodriguez added 15 points and eight assists.CAVALIERS: Kevin Love had two points on 1-for-7 shooting. ... Channing Frye was 4 for 4 from 3-point range off the bench, finishing with 14 points.UP NEXT: Philadelphia (1-2) visits Memphis on Tuesday. Cleveland (2-0) visits Atlanta on Monday.---TIMBERWOLVES 109, HEAT 100KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points, going 13 for 16 from the free throw line to overcome 3-for-11 shooting from the floor.Towns shot 7 for 18 in Tom Thibodeaus first game as Minnesota coach.Hassan Whiteside had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Miami.TIMBERWOLVES: Rookie Kris Dunn, the No. 5 overall pick, was 2 for 8 for six points in his debut. ... Shabazz Muhammed added 14 points and Nemanja Bjelica had 12.HEAT: Goran Dragic scored 16 points. ... Dion Waiters and Derrick Williams, both in their first seasons with the Heat, each finished with 14 points.UP NEXT: Miami (1-1) hosts Brooklyn on Tuesday. Minnesota (1-0) visits Charlotte on Monday.SPURS 102, HAWKS 91SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 14 points in the Spurs first preseason victory.Aldridge grabbed six rebounds in his first exhibition action.HAWKS: Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Kyle Korver and Dennis Schroder all got the night off. Paul Millsap is still recovering from surgery. ... Taurean Prince and Malcolm Delaney each scored 13 points.SPURS: Gregg Popovich left the coaching to an assistant, as he traditionally does in at least one preseason game. Ime Udoka coached the first half and James Borrego the second. ... Manu Ginobili scored 11 points.UP NEXT: Atlanta (1-1) hosts Cleveland on Monday. San Antonio (1-1) visits Detroit on Monday.---BULLS 121, PACERS 105CHICAGO -- Dwyane Wade had 22 points and eight assists in his best game of the preseason, and the Bulls got their first victory.The Pacers lost for the first time in their third exhibition game.PACERS: Rookie Georges Niang had 16 points in just 12 minutes, going 6 for 8 from the field and 4 for 6 from 3-point range. ... Paul George had the night off. ... Glenn Robinson III started and scored 17 points.BULLS: Nikola Mirotic broke out of his preseason shooting slump with 18 points and nine rebounds, going 6 for 9 and making four 3-pointers. ... Jimmy Butler had 15 points but made only 3-of-11 shots. ... Rajon Rondo didnt play.UP NEXT: Indiana (2-1) faces Milwaukee on Wednesday in Evansville, Indiana. Chicago (1-2) hosts Cleveland on Friday.---KNICKS 116, NETS 98NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony scored 16 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 12 and the Knicks won the first preseason meeting between the city rivals in four years.Both teams played without their starting point guards. Derrick Rose remains in Los Angeles for his rape trial, while former Knicks star Jeremy Lin sat out after scoring 21 points Thursday in his Nets debut.New York got its first victory under Jeff Hornacek after getting routed 130-103 by Houston in its opener.NETS: Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett scored 15 points, going 11 for 14 from the free throw line. ... Brooklyn also gave Luis Scola the night off.KNICKS: Joakim Noah sat out again with a sore left hamstring and probably wont play Monday, coach Jeff Hornacek said. ... Chasson Randle had 14 points, getting extra playing time in Roses absence.UP NEXT: Brooklyn (1-1) visits Miami on Tuesday. New York (1-1) hosts Washington on Monday.---CELTICS 104, HORNETS 86UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Tyler Zeller scored 14 points as the Celtics beat the winless Hornets for the second time in three days.Boston beat Charlotte 107-92 on Thursday in Greensboro, North Carolina.Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 11 points and Frank Kaminsky had 10, though the starting forwards combined to shoot 8 for 28.HORNETS: Kemba Walker had six points in 14+ minutes as he continues his recovery from offseason left knee surgery. ... Jeremy Lamb, like Walker a former University of Connecticut star, started and scored nine points. ... Christian Wood led Charlotte with 13 points.CELTICS: Al Horford and Isaiah Thomas didnt play. ... Jordan Mickey led Boston with 16 points, going 8 for 10. ... Jaylen Brown, the No. 3 pick in the draft, shot 2 for 10, missing all four 3-point attempts.UP NEXT: Charlotte (0-3) hosts Minnesota on Monday. Boston (2-1) visits Brooklyn on Thursday.---BUCKS 88, MAVERICKS 74MADISON, Wis. -- Jabari Parker scored 21 points in Milwaukees victory in Wisconsins capital city.Dwight Powell scored 15 for Dallas.MAVERICKS: Dallas was held below 20 points in three quarters.BUCKS: Milwaukee plays a second straight game at a neutral site on Wednesday, facing the Pacers in Evansville, Indiana.UP NEXT: Dallas (1-2) hosts Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Milwaukee (2-0) faces Indiana on Wednesday in Evansville, Indiana.Jason Taylor Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Mark Clayton Youth Jersey . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Christian-Wilkins-Jersey/ . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Mark Duper Youth Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Josh Rosen Womens Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good.TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals led the NFL in yards gained last year. They averaged 38 points a game.All the skill people returned. What should be well-oiled familiarity instead is disjointed and stagnant.The Cardinals (1-2) are coughing and sputtering at the start of each game, taking precious time to get in gear.Every year is different, coach Bruce Arians said after what was described as a spirited practice Wednesday. When you get everybody back you expect to be as good (as last year) or better. But other things change. Again, our performance is not acceptable so far.Arizona has yet to score a point in the first quarter, not against New England, not in a blowout win over Tampa Bay, and not last Sunday in a 33-18 loss at Buffalo .Last Sunday was the worst. The Cardinals didnt get a first down in their first five possessions and were down 17-0 in a hurry.Whats wrong?We always strive to score that first possession. Thats something I take pride in, said Arians, who prefers to take the ball first if the Cardinals win the coin toss rather than deferring to the second half. The biggest thing is third-down conversions, third-down conversions and poor first-down plays. If we have a short play weve gone a good job of getting it in second-and-five or less, but the third downs are the key, like they are every week.The Cardinals are 17 of 41 (41.5 percent) in third-down conversions. Against Buffalo, they were 5 of 15.Like most of his teammates, Carson Palmer wasnt at his best against the Bills, completing 26 of 50 passes for 260 yards. He threw four interceptions -- all in the fourth quarter -- and didnt throw a touchdown pass.Arians said two of the interceptions were the receivers fault for running the wrong route. The other two came when Palmer threw a couple up for grrabs in hopes of scoring quickly with the team so far behind.ddddddddddddPalmer was 7 for 14 for 44 yards in the first half.I think it always comes down to execution, Palmer said about the slow starts. Theres never one reason that kind of covers them all. Its execution -- everybody, all 11 guys executing the right play at the right time.Arians has said things might have worked out differently if Michael Floyd hadnt dropped the first pass of the game. Maybe the momentum of a catch would lead to an early score and the whole mood of the day would be altered.Floyd, who has just nine catches for 134 yards in three games, said a few big plays could loosen the team up.I think our offense feeds off our room, our group (wide receivers) and making big plays , he said. I think that feeds on the offense. I think it feeds on the whole team, seeing us making big plays out there. With me to start out the game with an incomplete pass., you know, I take that seriously and Im making sure that doesnt happen again.Its just starting of fast, making big plays and getting back into the groove and having that confidence that we can just go downfield and score.Much easier said than done with the rough defense of the Los Angeles Rams coming to town. The NFC West foes meet Sunday afternoon in Glendale.Game notesThe Cardinals signed three players -- long snapper Aaron Brewer, punter Ryan Quigley and inside linebacker Joplo Bartu. ... With regular punter Drew Butler still in a walking boot due to an ankle injury, the holders job on extra points and field goals probably will to Quigley, Arians said.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.cer Drew Butler still in a walking boot duerl] ' ' '