CLEVELAND _ Already wrapped up was the Cavaliers' goal of finishing in the NBA's bottom three, which carries the consolation prize of a 14 percent chance of winning the draft lottery with the other two on the wrong end of the ledger.
That was secured with Friday's loss at Golden State that dropped the Cavs (now 19-62) into the netherworld with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks.
So the Cavs' ninth consecutive loss, a 112-90 setback Sunday against the playoff-bound San Antonio Spurs at Quicken Loans Arena, seemed like the perfect time to say goodbye to Channing Frye.
Frye, 35, a key member of the Cavs' 2016 championship team, is retiring after Tuesday's season finale.
Frye made just his sixth start of the season and opened the game with a 3-pointer. On the bench, the Cavs wore shooting shirts that read "Channing" with his No. 9 on the back.
When Kevin Love checked in during the first quarter, he was wearing Frye's University of Arizona jersey, which Love tossed to a waiting Frye. Several videos about Frye played during the game and he finished with five points, four rebounds and an assist in his 16 minutes. He departed to a standing ovation with 1:34 left as Love and Tristan Thompson piled on and took him down by the bench.
"My heart is here in Cleveland; my championship is here in Cleveland ... I just want to say thank you," Frye said to the fans on video, as shots were shown from the Cavs' parade.
In reference to his penchant for text chains, Frye said, "Now I'll be even more bored, so get ready to get texted at all times of the day."
Frye spent 13 years in the NBA. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was most familiar with Frye when he played for the Suns from 2009-14.
"He's one of those stretch 4 kind of guys we always talk about that really had an impact," Popovich said of Frye, who stands 7-foot. "Most of my memories of him were in Phoenix, where he was really a big problem for us. He did such a great job and really cemented that, it's going to be part of the NBA forever _ shooting big guys _ and he was great at it. He's been a great teammate."
During the game, Frye became the 36th player in league history to record at least 4,000 rebounds and 1,000 3-pointers.
Collin Sexton and Brandon Knight led the Cavs with 16 points each, while Ante Zizic had 14 points and six rebounds. Cedi Osman had 12 points, while Larry Nance Jr. contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Returning after missing the past four games with a sore left shoulder, Love played just 13 minutes, scoring five points with four rebounds and two assists.
LaMarcus Aldridge topped the Spurs with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Davis Bertans had 14 points each. DeRozan notched a game-high nine assists.
The Spurs' bench outscored the Cavs 51-30. The Spurs also had a 49-34 rebounding edge and totaled 27 assists on 43 made field goals.
The Cavs were without Thompson (rest) and guards Nik Stauskas (lower back contusion) and Matthew Dellavedova (who missed his 16th consecutive game with a concussion).
