lo made cornerback Ross Cockrell the 109th overall

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Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyrie Irving started ice cold, missing his first seven shots. Hours later, his coach was asked to describe a performance he said was unlike anything hed ever seen. We just ran some stuff for our hot player, said David Blatt, and he delivered. Irving piled up a career-high 55 points with an injured LeBron James cheering from the sideline and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-94 on Wednesday night for their eighth consecutive win. Irving electrified Quicken Loans Arena by making a team-record 11 3-pointers, the last of them coming with 6.4 seconds left to give the Cavaliers the lead for good. His 55 points were the most ever scored by a Cavaliers player at home and one shy of James franchise-record 56 in a game in Toronto on March 20, 2005. The fourth-year point guard almost single-handedly extended Clevelands winning streak. Timofey Mozgov added 12 points, including two key free throws late in the game, but Kevin Love went scoreless after getting 10 in the first quarter and J.R. Smith was the only other Cavs player in double digits with 11. All of it came with James on the sideline because of a sprained right wrist he suffered Tuesday against Detroit, which could keep him sidelined for at least one more game. Irving went 17-of-29 after missing his first seven shots over the opening 10 1/2 minutes of the game. He scored 28 points in the first half and had 16 in the fourth quarter to keep the Cavs from giving away a game they led by 14. Ive seen a lot of great performances, but something quite like that? No, Blatt said. Ive never seen that. And Ive been coaching a long time. LaMarcus Aldridge had 38 points to lead Portland, including two free throws that tied the score with 27.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Irving buried his final shot over 6-foot-8 Nicolas Batum to give Cleveland the lead and break C.J. Miles franchise record for 3s in a game. Irving grabbed the rebound after Damian Lillard was short on a 3 from the right corner at the other end and made two foul shots for the last of his 55 points. His previous career high was 44 points in an overtime loss to Charlotte on April 5 last year. Miles Cavaliers record lasted barely a year. He made 10 against Philadelphia on Jan. 7, 2014. Cleveland has won eight in a row for the first time since an eight-game streak March 8-24, 2010, which was James last season with Cleveland before he left to play for Miami. Portland had an extra day off after Mondays scheduled game in Brooklyn was postponed Monday night because of a snow storm. The Blazers hadnt played since a 103-96 win over Washington on Saturday night, when Aldridge scored 26 points after deciding to put off having surgery on a torn ligament in his left thumb, an injury that was expected to sideline the star big man between six and eight weeks. Batum returned after missing a game with a wrist injury and scored seven points. Lillard had 14, Wesley Matthews scored 11 and Chris Kaman had a game- high 13 rebounds for Portland. Game Notes The Cavs recalled guard Joe Harris from Canton of the NBA Development League but he didnt play ... Love was 3-for-15 but pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds ... The Cavs lost in Portland on Nov. 4. Wednesdays win was just their second in the last nine meetings ... The Blazers face Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta on Friday ... The Cavs host Sacramento on Friday. . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot. . Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et. The game is also avialable on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg at 7pm ct. http://www.patriotsfanaticstores.com/au ... ts-jersey/. Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen. . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one.NEW YORK -- Clemson star receiver Sammy Watkins was the common thread early on the final day of the NFL draft Saturday. Watkins, the fourth overall selection in the first round by Buffalo, saw his older brother, Florida cornerback Jaylen Watkins, taken by Philadelphia to open the fourth round. Philadelphia acquired the selection the previous day from Houston, trading its third-round pick (No. 83) for the Texans fourth- and fifth-round spots. "Today is a very big day for our family," Jaylen said. "I texted him (Thursday) before he went on stage and he just texted me ... were both excited for each other. We cant complain about anything that happened this year for us." The next pick, by Washington, was Sammy Watkins college teammate, cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who went up against the nations top wideout in practice for several years at Clemson. Watkins fellow receiver with the Tigers, Martavis Bryant, also went in the fourth round, to Pittsburgh. "Sammy, hes a great player, hes like my brother," Bryant said. "I got a lot of love for him, so Ive never been the type to feel that (jealousy). Everything that the coaches asked me to do I did for the team, and if it was playing behind him then it was playing behind him." Andre Williams of Boston College, the nations leading rusher, went to the New York Giants, whose backfield has been plagued by injuries. Williams rushed for 2,177 yards and won the Doak Walker Award as Americas top running back in 2013, but he is considered a weak receiver. "Patience is a really valuable thing," Williams said. "It worked out the best possible way it could, no matter what round it ended up being.&" Arizonas KaDeem Carey, like Williams, an All-American runner, was taken four spots later by Chicago.dddddddddddd Oregons DeAnthony Thomas went to Kansas City, ostensibly to replace departed Dexter McCluster. National champion Florida State had two players go in the first five picks Saturday: running back Devonta Freeman to Atlanta, and centre Bryan Stork, another All-American, to New England. Big 12 power Oklahoma, which was blanked in the first three rounds, broke through when the New York Jets drafted receiver Jalen Saunders. While two other powerhouse programs, Texas and Georgia, did not yet have anyone taken, Duke did. When Buffalo made cornerback Ross Cockrell the 109th overall selection, it was the highest a Blue Devil had gone since offensive lineman Lennie Friedman went to Denver in the second round in 1999. Cockrell thought Duke making the Chick-Fil-A bowl helped his stock. "I think it opened a lot of eyes that this guy from Duke can actually play a little ball and will be able to compete at the next level," he said. The first quarterback to go Saturday was a bit of surprise: inconsistent Logan Thomas of Virginia Tech. Thomas never really improved to the level expected during his career with the Hokies after a strong debut. Hes big, with a strong arm, but is turnover prone. Going on consecutive picks late in the fifth round were two other star QBs: Aaron Murray of Georgia to Kansas City, and A.J. McCarron of Alabama to Cincinnati. Zach Mettenberger of LSU went in the sixth round to the Titans. Missouri defensive end/linebacker Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to enter the draft, also is still waiting. ' ' '