DENVER -- Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a balanced offensive attack to close out a successful Western Conference road trip. Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Cleveland had five players score in double figures. C.J. Miles added 19 points, including four free throws down the stretch, and Luol Deng scored 18. "Everyone has to be guarded," Irving said. "Its a luxury right now." The Cavaliers finished their five-game trip with a 3-2 record after winning in Denver for the second time in three years. They led most of the way and held off a late rally by the Nuggets that cut a double-digit lead to three early in the fourth quarter. Cleveland went 28 for 35 at the free-throw line, including 12 of 15 in the fourth quarter. "We had each others back because on the road its us against the world," coach Mike Brown said. "We had a lot of guys step up. We were aggressive with 35 free-throw attempts." Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Ty Lawson had 19 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who have dropped two of three. Denver had won its last four home games, but fell to 11-9 at Pepsi Center this season. It had a 38-3 home record last season. "These games should be in the win column," Lawson said. "We just keep letting easy games go. Our last month is tough, weve got to get these games right now." The Nuggets attempted a season-high 37 3-pointers, making 14, but struggled from long range down the stretch. "We were taking what the defence was giving us," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "In the second half we threw up a lot because we were down and we were trying to get back in the game. But I dont think our offence was hurting us - it was defence." After Tyler Zellers free throw made it 94-86 with 9:33 remaining, Evan Fournier hit a floating jump shot in the lane and Nate Robinson made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to three. It was the closest Denver had been since the second quarter. "We still had the lead. The momentum was in their favour but that happens on the road, especially against a good home team," Irving said. "We had to remain aggressive and thats what we did." The Cavaliers responded with five straight points. Anderson Varejao hit a jumper and free throw and Irving also scored to make it 99-91. Denver made a couple more charges, but each rally fizzled when it got close. Chandler hit two 3-pointers to help the Nuggets get within three at 111-108. Denver had a chance to get within one or tie but an offensive rebound by Irving led to a dunk by Deng with 43.8 seconds left, and Cleveland closed it out from there. "We wanted it and we went out and took it," Irving said. "Couple of mistakes at the end but it didnt rattle us." The Cavaliers led by 14 in the third quarter but Denver made a push to close to 87-80 heading into the fourth. Chandler scored seven points in the period. Irving, Thompson and Miles all had 13 points in the first half for Cleveland, which used an 18-6 run to take a 68-57 lead at the break. Irving scored 10 points in the spurt and Miles hit a corner 3-pointer just before the end of the quarter to push the lead to 11. The Nuggets hit nine 3-pointers in the first 24 minutes to keep it close but allowed the Cavaliers to hit 56.5 per cent from the field in allowing 68 points in the first half for the second time this season. Randy Foye led Denver with 14 points at the break. "That second quarter we gave them 42 points," Foye said. "That just killed us. Every other quarter we held them down. That second quarter killed us." NOTES: Nuggets F Darrell Arthur (left groin strain) missed his third straight game. ... Deng is averaging 18 points since coming to the Cavaliers in a trade with Chicago on Jan. 7. ... Shaw missed shootaround with a sinus infection but was on the sideline for the game. Scarpe Air Max 97 Scontate .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. Air Max Plus Saldi Sconti . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/scarpe-...ntate.html.Pete Morelli said the back judge threw a flag on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens on a pass to Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew in Dallas 24-20 wild-card win Sunday. But the head linesman said there wasnt enough contact and that Hitchens was face-guarding, which isnt a penalty in the NFL. Scarpe Air Max 270 Scontate . The start of the seasons fifth and final major was delayed two hours due to heavy rain in the area. The tournament eventually began, but with water on the greens and the rain persisting, players were called back to the clubhouse less than an hour after the first group teed off. Air Max Outlet Italia . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A.The post-Olympic NHL is buzzing with rumors of trade talk between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning involving some significant pieces – Ranger captain Ryan Callahan and Lightning captain Marty St. Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less.2. The real question, though, is what is the latest and greatest information. Or, in other words, is this a story that is a couple of weeks old, just now finally coming to light and perhaps outdated? If its the latter, and either Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman doesnt intend to trade St. Louis or St. Louis doesnt want to be traded (he has a full No Move Clause), one or both of them may want to put the kaibosh on this story real fast now that theyre back from Sochi. Thats their call, but the Lighting are an Eastern Conference contender and letting this take on a life of its own is going to make for an unsettled week to 10 days leading up to the March 5 trade deadline. Ultimately, the larger issue is where is St. Louiss mindset at right now? Does he want to remain captain of the Lightning? There is reason to believe in the immediate aftermath of his Jan. 7 snub from the Canadian Olympic team, in some form or another, St. Louis indicated to the Bolts he may look favorably on a move out of Tampa. We have to be careful here not to get too hung up on semantics. Was it a trade demand? A trade request? A conversation? Was it St. Louis speaking directly to Yzerman or was it some form of communication between St. Louiss agent Lewis Gross and the organization? While none of the principals were confirming or denying anything in those days and weeks after the initial snub, talk in the NHL community was rife that St. Louis wanted out. There was even talk – again, nothing with an absolute confirmation -- that the only place St. Louis would waive his No Move Clause for was the New York Rangers. His off-season hhome is just outside NYC, in Connecticut.dddddddddddd If the NYR or bust account is accurate, it would certainly explain the St. Louis rumors coming out of NYC the last few days and the talk of Callahan for St. Louis. But heres the problem on that front. Tampa, especially now that Steven Stamkos is closer to returning, is a potential Eastern contender. St. Louis is a huge part of the Lightning attack and if you take a primary offensive catalyst out of the Bolts lineup now, its difficult to believe it could be accomplished with Ranger captain Callahan coming the other way on an expiring contract. Yzerman would want and need more from the Rangers than that. And as long as we presume the Lightning want to remain a contender in the East this season, trading St. Louis for future considerations or younger, unproven players presents its own set of unique problems in the short term. As for the Rangers, theyre not about to start giving up draft picks, prospects or young players for a 38-year-old. So the Tampa-NYR fit doesnt appear to be there. Even if there were a fit, when its all said and done, nothing happens if St. Louis doesnt want it to happen. His NMC guarantees that. If he feels more strongly about staying in Tampa now that hes played for Team Canada in the Olympics than he may have in the aftermath of the Jan. 7 snub, then the trade stories out of NYC are old news recycled as new. But if St. Louis would look favorably on a move now, even if its only to NYC, then the ball is back squarely in the Lightnings court to decide if theres any desire to oblige him and whether theres even a deal to be made. The way I see it, Yzerman isnt making any move in the short term unless it totally suits his purposes and IF he is contemplating trading St. Louis, it may make as much or more sense to do it in the summer as now. Or maybe St. Louis and the Lightning are going to live happily ever after. If thats the case, theyll no doubt let us know. Or not. In the meantime, well just sit tight to see how this one plays out but it sure seems as though it has way too many moving parts. ' ' '