COLUMBUS, Ohio -- LeBron James scored 14 points, thrilling fans with a breakaway dunk, but Cleveland lost to Memphis 91-81 in a preseason game at Ohio State on Monday night.
James, who only played 25 minutes, is a huge fan of the Buckeyes and has a locker in the men's basketball facility.
"I think we did some good things," James said. "It's really hard to say with us having so many guys out right now."
The Cavaliers were a shell of what the team figures to be at some point of the season. Guard Kyrie Irving could be out until January with a fractured knee cap and guard Iman Shumpert is out 12 to 14 weeks following wrist surgery.
Forward Kevin Love, out since having his shoulder dislocated by Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs and undergoing surgery, practiced for the first time Saturday but did not play.
"He's very close to playing in games," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. "He's in very good shape."
Also, guard Mo Williams was rested and forward J.R. Smith, who was pulled from the game Thursday vs. Philadelphia because of hamstring soreness, did not dress.
"We shut him down the last game," Blatt said of Smith. "It's not a serious injury but it's a tricky thing that you have to be cautious about. If he's not 100 percent, he's not going to play."
Also, forward Tristan Thompson is a holdout.
Blatt is hoping to have some semblance of a healthy team to open the season Oct. 27 at Chicago. The Cavaliers then play at Memphis the next night in the Grizzlies first game.
"They're going to be a different team when we play them come October 28 so we know we've got to be ready," said former Buckeyes guard Mike Conley, who had four points.
Zach Randolph had 14 points to lead the Grizzlies.
GRIZZLIES: Conley was 0-for-4 from the floor, made all four free throws and had six assists.
CAVALIERS: James' first basket was a 3-pointer with 10:33 left in the first quarter.
SIDELINED: For the Cavaliers, F Kevin Love (dislocated shoulder), G J.R. Smith (hamstring), G Mo Williams (maintenance), G Kyrie Irving (fractured knee cap) and Iman Shumpert (wrist). For Memphis, F Jarrell Martin (foot fracture).
UP NEXT: The Grizzlies hosts Oklahoma City on Friday. Milwaukee plays Tuesday at Cleveland.




Final
Regular Season Series (Game 1 of 1)

Grizzlies 91

(3-0, 1-0 away)

Cavaliers 81

(0-3, 0-2 home)





7:00PM,EDT,October 12,2015
Value City Arena, Columbus, OH

1 2 3 4 T
MEM 24 21 20 2691
CLE 19 17 19 2681
Top Performers
Mem: C. Lee 11 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl
Cle: R. Jefferson 11 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl





Complete Play-By-Play

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | All




Memphis Grizzlies
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Zach Randolph, PF237-120-00-003321014+814
Jeff Green, SF283-81-44-613421023+1511
Marc Gasol, C275-120-00-022401044+1310
Mike Conley, PG260-30-04-404491010+84
Courtney Lee, SG244-51-12-215622001+1411
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Jarnell Stokes, PF164-50-02-205500025-210
Brandan Wright, PF112-60-00-011210123+44
Sampson Carter, SF70-00-00-001111111+60
Matt Barnes, SF71-20-10-001100011-32
Ryan Hollins, C122-30-00-20111001104
Russ Smith, PG110-00-01-211210021-51
Lazeric Jones, PG124-51-10-00222000109
Beno Udrih, PG40-10-02-201120011+32
Vince Carter, SG51-21-20-000000000-33
Tony Allen, SG122-20-00-011203010-44
Yakhouba Diawara, SG151-30-10-001110001-42
Alex Stepheson, PFDNP COACH'S DECISION
JaMychal Green, PFDNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS
FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF   PTS

36-694-1015-2073239241021927 91

52.2%40.0%75.0%
Fast break points:   5
Points in the paint:   22
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   20 (23)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
Cleveland Cavaliers
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Anderson Varejao, PF211-40-04-407732133-156
Richard Jefferson, SF304-83-60-006611021-911
LeBron James, SF266-152-50-000033041-914
Timofey Mozgov, C272-70-11-214510010-55
Matthew Dellavedova, SG251-30-00-001141023-152
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Austin Daye, PF82-31-22-201100012-17
Sasha Kaun, C271-10-01-211210033-13
Quinn Cook, PG182-41-20-002220002+35
James Jones, SG132-61-35-503300001+210
Joe Harris, SG161-61-52-202221000+15
Jared Cunningham, SG293-80-37-1000021014-113
Nick Minnerath, SFDNP COACH'S DECISION
Chris Johnson, CDNP COACH'S DECISION
D.J. Stephens, SGDNP COACH'S DECISION
Dionte Christmas, SGDNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS
FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF   PTS

25-659-2722-272272919911720 81

38.5%33.3%81.5%
Fast break points:   13
Points in the paint:   16
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   17 (18)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
 Flagrant Fouls: None
 Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: 1 CLEVELAND ( Kaun 1 ) - TEAMS: CLEVELAND (1) - COACHES: None
 Officials: Tony Brown, Rodney Mott, Tyler Ford
 Attendance: 18,073
 Time of Game: 2:14