nd Tuomo Ruutu missed all three games of the recent trip due to illness, but

CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers best performance of the season brought an end to the Denver Nuggets seven-game winning streak. 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. Will Harris Womens Jersey . Cincinnati has lost back-to-back games in overtime, wasting a chance to take a commanding lead in their division. T.J. Hockenson Jersey .Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-Jarrad-Davis-Elite-Jersey/ .The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U. Barry Sanders Jersey .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. Will Harris Jersey . Algeria led 3-0 at halftime, but withstood a stronger South Korean second half performance to claim its first World Cup win since 1982 and move into second place in Group H with one match left to play. Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.(SportsNetwork.com) - The struggling Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping for a fresh start Wednesday when they emerge from the NHLs All-Star break to visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. The Maple Leafs limped into the break on a six-game losing streak and dropped all six outings in regulation. Torontos offense has been shut out three times during the slide and the club is 1-7-0 since head coach Randy Carlyle was fired and replaced by Peter Horachek on an interim basis. If there is a bright spot for the Leafs, who are 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, its that they managed to score three goals in their most recent outing. The three markers came in last Wednesdays 4-3 loss in Ottawa and the offensive output gives Toronto five total goals during this 0-6-0 slide. Leafs forward Nazem Kadri is one guy who believes the team is heading in the right direction despite the current win drought. There are signs of good things here, Kadri told his teams web site on Tuesday. Obviously were getting losses and it overshadows everything else that were doing. There are a lot of positives and I feel like, despite the results, weve taken steps in the right direction. With some help from Kadri, the Leafs were able to get themselves back in last Wednesdays game after falling behind 3-0 to the Senators in the first period. Kadri tallied a power-play goal early in the third period to make it a 3-2 game, but Toronto was never able to even the score. Erik Karlsson potted the eventual game-winner for Ottawa with 4:40 left in the third. James van Riemsdyk made it a one-goal game for Toronto again with 1:23 remaining, but the score would remain 4-3. David Clarkson also scored for the Maple Leafs, while James Reimer gave up all four goals on 26 shots in the loss. Toronto is just 1-9-0 in January and has lost 14 of 17 dating back to the middle of December. The current six-game swoon is the clubs longest losing streak since a 0-8-0 stretch from March 16-29 of last season. The Devils, meanwhile, have seen bettter results since firing head coach Peter DeBoer in December, going 5-5-1 since the coaching change.ddddddddddddStill, New Jersey finds itself five points in back of Toronto in the East and 15 points out of a playoff spot. New Jersey entered the break on a positive note, completing a 2-1-0 road trip with a 5-2 win in San Jose on Jan. 19. The Devils hope to carry some momentum from the successful swing back home, as they kick off a five-game homestand tonight. Jacob Josefson scored a short-handed goal and added an assist to help Jersey slam the Sharks last week. Cory Schneider made 34 saves for the win and Steve Bernier, Travis Zajac, Jordin Tootoo and Mike Cammalleri all lit the lamp for the Devils. I thought everyone stepped up, said Schneider. We played unselfishly, we played together. Devils forwards Jaromir Jagr and Tuomo Ruutu missed all three games of the recent trip due to illness, but both players were at practice on Tuesday and are expected to play tonight. However, centerman Travis Zajac is questionable for Wednesday after missing Tuesdays practice with an illness of his own. Schneider will get the start in net tonight for the Devils and he boasts a 2-0-2 record and 1.93 goals against average in four career games against Toronto. New Jerseys workhorse goalie picked up a win in Toronto on Dec. 4 by stopping 29-of-32 shots in a 5-3 victory. With the Leafs also scheduled to play tomorrow night against visiting Arizona, Reimer and Jonathan Bernier are likely to split starts over the next two games. Reimer is 4-2-2 with a 2.35 GAA in his career versus New Jersey, while Bernier is 2-2-0 with a 2.67 GAA in this matchup. The Devils have won two in a row over Toronto and have earned a point in their last four outings (2-0-2) against the Leafs. Jersey also halted a three-game home slide versus Toronto with a 3-2 win at Prudential Center on March 23 of last season. Toronto has lost seven straight on the road overall and is just 7-13-3 as the guest this season. New Jersey is 7-7-6 as the host. ' ' '