TORONTO (AP) — LeBron James scored 34 points and the Cavaliers overcame an injury to J.R. Smith to snap their three-game losing streak with a 116-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
Smith landed awkwardly and jammed his knee after making a jump shot with 1:52 to play in the first quarter and hobbled to the dressing room in considerable pain. He did not return, and the Cavaliers said X-rays taken at the arena were negative and that the guard would return to Cleveland on Tuesday for further examination.
DeMar DeRozan had 31 points and Kyle Lowry added 24 for Toronto, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
The win was the Cavaliers’ third straight this season against the Raptors, the team they beat in last season’s Eastern Conference finals. It also prevented Toronto from leapfrogging Cleveland into first place in the conference.
The Cavaliers have made other arrangements for players who do not want to stay at a New York hotel branded by President-elect Donald Trump.
James and several teammates have decided not to stay at Trump Soho in lower Manhattan this week. The Cavs have booked rooms at the luxury hotel for two days as the team will play the Knicks on Wednesday.
Cavs general manager David Griffin told The Associated Press that the team has made plans for a “group that wants to be elsewhere to be together elsewhere.” Griffin did not say where the players will be staying.
James publicly endorsed and campaigned for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost the election to Trump. Several of his teammates, including Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert and others have expressed their disappointment over Trump’s win.
The defending NBA champions will arrive in New York on Tuesday after playing in Toronto on Monday night.
The Cavs were honored by President Barack Obama last month at the White House for their title, the first for any Cleveland team since 1964.