Cavaliers comeback to stop Sixers 105-98
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Since LeBron James became the best basketball player on the planet and began winning titles, basketball purists, pundits and fans have debated who the next King is. Truthfully, there may never be another player with the physical gifts and capabilities of James, but comparisons continue to be made nonetheless.
When Kevin Durant flashed superstar potential in his first few seasons, comparisons to James came and continue to come today. More recently, a “Greek Freak”, who plays in Milwaukee, has drawn comparisons to the man perched on his Cleveland throne. And most recently, rookie Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons has drawn comparisons to James because of his versatile play and special size (6-foot-10, 230 pounds).
Simmons has built a relationship off the court with James, who Simmons has called a mentor and “big brother.” A few months before the 2016 NBA Draft, Simmons also signed with James’ business parter Rich Paul and Klutch Sports for representation. The two basketball prodigies have worked out together in the offseason, but Simmons has a long way to go if he wants to be mentioned with players of James’ stature when his NBA career is completed.
Saturday night, Simmons’ Sixers were in Cleveland to visit James and his Cavaliers, which were smarting from their 13-game winning streak being snapped the night before in Indiana. The Cavs, however, may have began a new streak Saturday night, as they held off the up-and-coming Sixers 105-98 for their eighth straight win in Quicken Loans Arena.
“These are games where you might normally lose coming off a back-to-back like last night and the tough travel, but we fought through it,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said.
James got the better of Simmons in their latest head-to-head matchup, totaling a game-high 30 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third triple-double of the season and 58th of his career. Simmons had several jaw-dropping plays during the game, but finished with a modest 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.
“The biggest thing is just, he is who he is,” Lue said of Simmons. “A lot of people talk about shooting a jumpshot, but if he’s not comfortable taking it, he’s not going to settle. He gets to where he wants to get on the floor, he gets into the paint, and what I like about him is that he doesn’t hold the basketball, he makes the right play and makes the right pass and doesn’t force anything.
“He plays with a great pace, great vision offensively and he takes his opportunities to score when he has them. Just a great all-around player.”
Cleveland picked up its 11th straight win over the Sixers, their longest active win streak over a single opponent. It wasn’t easy though, as the Cavs found themselves with a slim 99-98 lead with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter. But James, who scored or assisted on Cleveland’s last 22 points, made sure the Cavs wouldn’t fall without five of their key players.
James assisted Dwyane Wade for a floater with 1:08 to play that gave Cleveland a 101-98 lead. Less than 30 seconds later, James whipped a cross-court pass to Jae Crowder for an open three-pointer that found the bottom of the net, giving the Cavs a 104-98 lead with 40 seconds remaining. Crowder’s trey essentially iced the game.
“It’s a huge advantage,” Lue said of James’ ability to take over a game. “When you have guys like LeBron who can take over and read situations.”
The Cavs were once again without Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson due to injury, but a late addition to the injury report was Kevin Love just before the game. The Cavs ruled out the power forward before tipoff because of a sore left hip.
The Sixers were without several players as well, including Joel Embiid, No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz, T.J. McConnell and Justin Anderson. But with Simmons entrenched as part of Philadelphia’s future, Sixers fans will have plenty to cheer for.
“Some young guys have the vision, but they don’t want to make the play,” Lue said of Simmons. “But he wants to make the play, and that’s what makes him unique.”
James, however, is still the king of today’s NBA.
POSTED 12/09/2017 23:01
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Greg Goth
