Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing

CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers best performance of the season brought an end to the Denver Nuggets seven-game winning streak. Terry Steinbach Jersey . Irving scored 23 points and the Cavaliers won back-to-back games for the first time this season with a 98-88 victory over Denver Wednesday night. Tristan Thompson had a career-high 21 rebounds and 17 points for Cleveland, which handed Denver its first loss since Nov. 18. The Nuggets played the third game of a six-game road trip, which began with a 14-point win in Toronto on Sunday and a 24-point victory in Brooklyn on Tuesday. "They just whupped us tonight," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "They looked like the fresher team and they were quicker to the punch." Randy Foye led Denver with 16 points, while J.J. Hickson had 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the Nuggets couldnt contend with Clevelands balanced attack. Anderson Varejao scored a season-high 18 points and had 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who recorded their largest margin of victory this season. While the Nuggets have been one the leagues hottest teams, the Cavaliers have struggled to adjust to new coach Mike Browns system. Cleveland already has lost seven games by double figures, but a win over Chicago on Saturday and its latest victory produced some confidence. "Winning is the thing that cures everything," Brown said. "We came out aggressive on both ends of the floor and thats what coach Brown has been preaching," Irving said. "Its paying dividends. It starts with the way we practice and carries over into games." Denver trailed by 12 points in the second quarter, but finished the first half on a 10-2 run and cut the lead to two early in the third period. The Nuggets got no closer, however, as the Cavaliers stretched the lead to double figures. The margin reached 13 early in the fourth. Andrew Bynum, coming off his best game of the season, had 14 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes. The 7-footer had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots Saturday against the Bulls in a 97-93 win. Bynum, Thompson and Varejao combined for 41 of Clevelands 58 rebounds. "They were monsters in the pick-and-roll," Brown said. "They were monsters on the glass. They were monsters around the rim. It was awesome to watch." Thompson had nine rebounds in nine minutes in the first quarter. He had 11 points and 13 rebounds in the first half. "Tristan Thompson had his season averages at halftime," Shaw said. "This was a good lesson for our bigs. When youre playing against bigger guys like him and Bynum, youve got to put a body on them." Despite being 6-12, the Cavaliers havent fallen too far from the pack in the Eastern Conference, where only Indiana and Miami are over .500. "Thats the good thing about being in the East right now and Im sure every other team feels the same, but we truly believe we havent played our best basketball," Brown said. "Contrary to what anybody believes I do feel like were getting better." Nate Robinson scored 14 points and Wilson Chandler added 13 for the Nuggets. Denver got off to a slow start playing its third game in four nights. The Cavaliers led by seven points on several occasions in the first quarter and stretched the lead to 12 in the second. Cleveland led 54-42 with 1:51 remaining in the second, but Denver scored 10 of the halfs final 12 points, highlighted by Lawsons three-point play, a 3-pointer by Foye and four points by Darrell Arthur. Lawsons basket accounted for his first points of the game. He came into Wednesday averaging a team-high 20.2 points, but finished with four points on 1-of-13 shooting. "I feel like I missed all easy shots," said Lawson, who had 11 assists. "I aint never shot 1 for 13 before in my life." Bynum was given a flagrant foul for hitting Hickson in the shoulder in the third quarter while the Denver forward was driving to the basket. The Nuggets had won six of the previous seven meetings with the Cavaliers and three straight on the road. Denver reserve centre Timofey Mozgov had eight points and three rebounds in 17 minutes one night after grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds to go with 17 points against the Nets. He totalled 33 points and 35 rebounds against Brooklyn and Toronto. NOTES: Robinson played despite re-injuring his right wrist Tuesday. X-rays after the game were negative. Robinson shot a free throw left-handed against the Nets. ... Robinson was given a technical in the second quarter after a foul wasnt called when he was knocked to the floor while taking a shot. ... Nuggets G Andre Miller was hit with a technical in the third quarter. ... Cleveland G Dion Waiters, who had scored at least 20 points in each of his last three games, had five points and six assists. ... Denvers road trip continues against Boston on Friday. Dennis Eckersley Jersey . Scott scored a career-high 30 points, Jeff Teague added 28 and the Hawks rallied to beat the New York Knicks 107-98 on Saturday night. "We were down Paul, down so many bodies," Scott said. Stephen Piscotty Jersey . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. http://www.authenticmlbshopathletics.com/authentic-sean-doolittle-athletics-jersey/ . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning.TAMPA, Fla. -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. I might get a chance." The 15-year NHL defenceman made the most of a rare shootout opportunity, scoring in the 13th round to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. "It just happened to go in," said Salo of his first successful shootout goal, coming in his third ever attempt. "It was obviously good for us. Its a good feeling." The shootout was tied at 4 through 12 rounds before Salo put a backhander past Evgeni Nabokov. Ben Bishop preserved the win by making a glove save on Johan Sundstrom. Ryan Callahan had two goals for the Lightning, who trail Montreal by two points for second place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay, 6-0-4 in its last 10 games, has two games in hand on the Canadiens. "First and foremost, we got two points," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "So, thats what we need out of the game. Were going to have to do better than that. Give the Islanders some credit, they played really hard. Definitely, there were positives in the game, but as a whole, were a better 5-on-5 team than we showed tonight." The Islanders, out of the playoff race, got goals from Ryan Strome and Matt Donovan. Right wing Kyle Okposo, who has a team-best 27 goals and 69 points, was a late scratch due to a lower body injury. "We are trying to play hard at this point of the season, andd were trying to get better each and every day," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. Walt Weiss Jersey. "I thought we played a pretty good game." All three games between the teams this season were decided in a shootout, with the road team winning the first two. "I dont mind them when were winning," Callahan said. "When you lose them, you hate them." Callahan pulled the Lightning even at 2 on his second goal of the game, coming on a rebound 5:50 into the third. "We didnt have our best game, but really willed a way to win," Bishop said. Donovan put the Islanders up 2-1 while lunging forward in the slot at 9:17 of the second. It ended the defencemans 39-game goal drought. After Callahan redirected Radko Gudas shot past Nabokov just 29 seconds into the second, Strome put a shot past Bishop to tie it at 1 at 1:33. New York had a short-handed goal by Hamonic from centre ice waved off due to an offside call in the second. Hamonic stole Bishops errant long-range pass from the corner and put the puck into the vacated net. The Islanders failed to score during a 5-on-3 power play early in the third. Tampa Bay came up empty on a power play that covered the final 69 seconds of overtime. NOTES: Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula had an assist to extend his point streak (10 assists, 14 points) to 10 games. ... The Islanders recalled forward John Persson on an emergency basis from Bridgeport of the AHL. Persson, selected in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, made his NHL debut. 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