CLEVELAND (AP) -- Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas denied a rift with Kevin Love, insisting there is no "bad blood" between the teammates. 

Following days of drama with the never-a-dull-moment Cavs, Thomas spoke Saturday to reporters for the first time since the struggling team - Cleveland is 4-7 in January - held a heated meeting that came after Love went home during a lopsided loss to San Antonio last Saturday because the All-Star was sick and then missed practice the following day. 

At Monday's pre-practice meeting, Thomas was among the players who challenged Love's absences. 

But Thomas said any belief that he specifically targeted Love is inaccurate. 

"I didn't call him out," said Thomas, who has struggled in his return from a hip injury. " I asked him why wasn't he at the game, supporting his teammates.  And then after the game, I didn't ask him because he wasn't there.  So I was seeing where he was.  So I didn't call him out any.  So those reports that whoever is saying that, there's no bad blood between me and him. 

"We go back to fifth and sixth grade.  I asked him a question where he was and it was never clarified.  And that's all it was." 

Thomas also dismissed a play in Friday's game when Love grabbed a rebound and bent over at the waist to hand the ball to the 5-foot-9 point guard like an adult reaching out to a child. 

"There's nothing between me and Kevin Love - at all," he said. " I approached him about his situation and it went out of house like it shouldn't have been, but it was not nothing bigger than what the world was trying to make it, like some type of beef between me and him.  It's never been that and I've never been that guy to do that.  So, to clear all that false whatever.  Whatever everybody is writing up.  That's not cool at all." 

It's been quite a week already for the Cavs.  A day after the team meeting, LeBron James became the seventh player in NBA history to reach 30,000 points in a loss at San Antonio, coach Tyronn Lue tweaked his starting lineup, James selected Love to play on his All-Star team, Dwyane Wade was excused to handle a personal matter and the Cavs beat Indiana. 

And if that wasn't enough, the Cavs are working on some potential trades before the Feb. 8 deadline while trying to fix on-court issues that have dropped them behind Boston and Toronto in the Eastern Conference.