Cavs hold off Heat 91-89 in first game without Kevin Love

Life without Kevin Love began on a positive note for Cleveland, the Cleveland Cavaliers began a long stretch without injured All-Star Kevin Love by holding off the Miami Heat 91-89 Wednesday night at the Q.

It was a winnable game because neither team deserved to win. Cleveland shot 6-for-26 from 3-point land, shot just 35 percent overall and played so badly that Cavs fans jeered the team in the fourth quarter after mishaps.

Lebron James scored 24 points with 11 rebounds and five assists, but totaled seven of the Cavs’ 16 turnovers. Channing Frye, coming off a season-high 20 points on Tuesday and playing huge minutes with Love gone, contributed 16 points and four rebounds. Jae Crowder started in Love's place and finished with 11 points and four boards. His 3-ball on an assist from James with 1:21 to go broke an 85-all tie.

Isaiah Thomas played on consecutive nights for the first time this season despite saying after Tuesday's loss he was operating at about "75, 80 percent" of his capacity. He shot 2-of-15 from the field and 9-of-9 from the line. His two foul shots with 18.8 seconds left put the Cavs ahead 90-87. Wednesday, he shot 1-of-8 in the third quarter alone, and drew boos for a badly missed 3-pointer in the fourth. He finished with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists.

The Cavs entered play as the NBA's worst defensive team, and limited the Heat to 3-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. Miami also committed 20 turnovers. It was the first time Cleveland allowed less than 90 points in a game since Nov. 20.

The entire game was a struggle and the Cavs were booed twice in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers shot 35 percent tonight, their worst in a regular-season win since Lebron James returned to Cleveland.

The Cavs, who finished a hellish January with a 6-8 record, rebounded from a troubling loss at Detroit — Cleveland gave up 125 points to the undermanned Pistons — and prevented the Heat from overtaking them for third place in the Eastern Conference standings.

"You know one thing you can't do is control when the ball goes in and out or if it goes in for you," James said. "Offensively I think we were executing, the ball just wasn't going our way. We had some great looks, but, to win a game on the defensive side with the struggles we've had, that's pretty impressive. And versus this team, who's had one of the best records in the NBA in January. It was a big win for us."

COMING UP NEXT FOR THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS : The Cleveland Cavaliers (30-20) host the Houston Rockets (36-13) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC.