DENVER -- Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a balanced offensive attack to close out a successful Western Conference road trip. Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Cleveland had five players score in double figures. C.J. Miles added 19 points, including four free throws down the stretch, and Luol Deng scored 18. "Everyone has to be guarded," Irving said. "Its a luxury right now." The Cavaliers finished their five-game trip with a 3-2 record after winning in Denver for the second time in three years. They led most of the way and held off a late rally by the Nuggets that cut a double-digit lead to three early in the fourth quarter. Cleveland went 28 for 35 at the free-throw line, including 12 of 15 in the fourth quarter. "We had each others back because on the road its us against the world," coach Mike Brown said. "We had a lot of guys step up. We were aggressive with 35 free-throw attempts." Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Ty Lawson had 19 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who have dropped two of three. Denver had won its last four home games, but fell to 11-9 at Pepsi Center this season. It had a 38-3 home record last season. "These games should be in the win column," Lawson said. "We just keep letting easy games go. Our last month is tough, weve got to get these games right now." The Nuggets attempted a season-high 37 3-pointers, making 14, but struggled from long range down the stretch. "We were taking what the defence was giving us," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "In the second half we threw up a lot because we were down and we were trying to get back in the game. But I dont think our offence was hurting us - it was defence." After Tyler Zellers free throw made it 94-86 with 9:33 remaining, Evan Fournier hit a floating jump shot in the lane and Nate Robinson made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to three. It was the closest Denver had been since the second quarter. "We still had the lead. The momentum was in their favour but that happens on the road, especially against a good home team," Irving said. "We had to remain aggressive and thats what we did." The Cavaliers responded with five straight points. Anderson Varejao hit a jumper and free throw and Irving also scored to make it 99-91. Denver made a couple more charges, but each rally fizzled when it got close. Chandler hit two 3-pointers to help the Nuggets get within three at 111-108. Denver had a chance to get within one or tie but an offensive rebound by Irving led to a dunk by Deng with 43.8 seconds left, and Cleveland closed it out from there. "We wanted it and we went out and took it," Irving said. "Couple of mistakes at the end but it didnt rattle us." The Cavaliers led by 14 in the third quarter but Denver made a push to close to 87-80 heading into the fourth. Chandler scored seven points in the period. Irving, Thompson and Miles all had 13 points in the first half for Cleveland, which used an 18-6 run to take a 68-57 lead at the break. Irving scored 10 points in the spurt and Miles hit a corner 3-pointer just before the end of the quarter to push the lead to 11. The Nuggets hit nine 3-pointers in the first 24 minutes to keep it close but allowed the Cavaliers to hit 56.5 per cent from the field in allowing 68 points in the first half for the second time this season. Randy Foye led Denver with 14 points at the break. "That second quarter we gave them 42 points," Foye said. "That just killed us. Every other quarter we held them down. That second quarter killed us." NOTES: Nuggets F Darrell Arthur (left groin strain) missed his third straight game. ... Deng is averaging 18 points since coming to the Cavaliers in a trade with Chicago on Jan. 7. ... Shaw missed shootaround with a sinus infection but was on the sideline for the game. Blue Cowboys Jerseys . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. Camo Cowboys Jerseys . -- Felix Girard scored on the power play in the third period to lift the Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday. http://www.officialcowboysnflauthenticshop.com/?tag=connor-mcgovern-gear . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Cheap Cowboys Jerseys . "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. Womens Cowboys Jerseys . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills general manager Doug Whaley is done playing franchise tag with safety Jairus Byrd. After spending much of the past year trying to negotiate a long-term contract, Whaley preferred risking the loss of Byrd in free agency rather than applying the one-year tag on the three-time Pro Bowler for a second consecutive season. "We didnt think it was the best option for the team, for us to get better," Whaley said shortly after the NFLs deadline for teams to designate franchise players passed Monday afternoon. "The best thing for the Buffalo Bills was to try to get him signed to a long-term deal." Whaley didnt rule out the possibility of the sides negotiating a deal before the start of the NFLs free-agency period on March 11. "As they say in the movies, theres always a chance," he said. Whaley, however, did call it a "fair assessment" that Byrd is more interested in testing the market to determine his worth after being prevented from doing so last year. Negotiations reached a standstill last weekend after the Bills made Byrd what they regarded as a lucrative multiyear offer. Without revealing the full value and length of the proposal, people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that Byrd would have been paid about $30 million over the first three seasons of the contract. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side is publicly discussing the negotiations. Byrd played under a $6.9 million franchise tag last year. The price for Buffalo to apply the designation again would be about $8.4 million this season. The one-year price tag might not have scared the Bills from using it one more time. A bigger deterrent was paying that much money for a disgruntled player who missed nearly the entirre off-season last year before accepting his contract a day before the Bills broke training camp in late August.dddddddddddd "I wouldnt say those words," Whaley said, when asked if he was frustrated by a failure to reach a deal. "I would say, Hey, we worked hard. Its still not over yet. Then, when its over, Ill let the feelings seep into the equation." Byrd, selected in the second round of the 2009 draft out of Oregon, will have an opportunity to be among the top defensive backs available in free agency. He enjoyed a breakout season as a rookie, when he tied for the NFL lead with nine interceptions -- a rookie franchise record. Last year, Byrd earned his third Pro Bowl selection. He finished tied for the team lead with four interceptions, and added a sack and a forced fumble despite missing the first five games of the season because of plantar fasciitis in both feet. Byrd has 22 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles in 73 career games. The Bills could lose their top defensive back on a unit that showed considerable improvement last season. Though Buffalo struggled against the run, the defence finished 10th in the NFL in yards allowed -- its best ranking since a second-place finish in 2004. The Bills also finished second in the league with a franchise-record 57 sacks. The defence is in transition this off-season with Jim Schwartz taking over as co-ordinator. He replaced Mike Pettine, who left the Bills after one year to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The Browns could be a potential landing spot for Byrd. They have plenty of space under the salary cap, and Byrd enjoyed playing under Pettine. The Bills made a roster move Monday by releasing linebacker Willie Jefferson, who was signed to a reserve/future contract in January. 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