Cavaliers extend win streak to 11 with 116-111 win over Grizzlies
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Two teams heading in opposite directions met Saturday night in Quicken Loans Arena. The Cleveland Cavaliers entered their matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday riding a 10-game winning streak, while the Grizzlies entered the night having lost 10 straight games. The result was what most expected, a Cavs win, but Cleveland had to hold on for a 116-111 victory to push their win streak to 11 games.
“They junked the game up again, putting bigs on smalls,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “It kind of had us in disarray offensively, but we just kept our composure, just kept playing and ‘Bron took us home down the stretch. It was just a tricky game for us.”
After recently being named the NBA’s latest Eastern Conference Player of the month, LeBron James led the Cavs with 34 points and 12 rebounds. Kevin Love contributed his 15th double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams had significant injuries entering the matchup. The Cavs were without Isaiah Thomas (hip), Iman Shumpert (knee) and Tristan Thompson (calf), while Memphis was missing star point guard Mike Conley (Achilles), Chandler Parsons (knee, ankle), Brandan Wright (groin) and Wayne Selden Jr. (quad). Injuries or not, the Cavs handled their business against a depleted Memphis team on Saturday.
When Cleveland trailed in the first quarter by a 28-16 margin, it seemed as if they could be in for a tough battle with Memphis. But the Cavs fought back to trail 32-28 when the quarter ended and began to assert their will in the second quarter. When Cavs shooting guard Kyle Korver drained a three-pointer with 6:40 remaining in the quarter, the Cavs secured a 44-43 lead and pushed the pedal to the floor.
By the time James knocked down a jumper as the horn sounded the end of the first half, Cleveland had taken a 66-52 lead through three quarters. The Cavs led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter and never led by less than double-digits again until early in the fourth quarter.
When Grizzlies center Marc Gasol drained a jumper with 10:32 remaining in the final period, Memphis had clawed its way back to a 95-89 deficit. When Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks sank a three-pointer with 2:10 remaining, Memphis had battled all the way back to tie the game at 109. However, James immediately scored five straight points to give the Cavs the breathing room they needed down the stretch, followed by a jumper to ice the game with five seconds showing.
“Giving up 11 threes in that second half, that’s what kept the game close,” Lue said.
Against Memphis, Cleveland was also without Derrick Rose, who continues to remain away from the team as he deals with a personal issue. Lue said the organization has been in communication with Rose and that it has been “positive”, while the team is also expected to update Rose’s status on Sunday.
While Rose hasn’t played at all during the Cavs’ current winning steak, James is always the constant. The Cavs superstar entered Saturday’s game shooting 42.5 percent from three-point range this season. He has only shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc for a season one time in his career (2012-13 — 40.6 percent), and if he kept this season’s current pace, it would be the highest of his career.
“I haven’t seen much of a mechanical change, no, but I know he’s shooting it with confidence, taking his open shots and making a lot of big shots as well,” Lue said of James’ shooting this season. “When he’s making his jump shot and attacking also, we’re tough to beat.”
James also entered the game shooting 58.4 percent from the field, which would also be his highest shooting percentage in a season if he kept up his current pace. The highest he has ever shot from the field in a season is 56.7 percent back in the 2013-14 season.
“All greats, they add something different to their game as they get older,” Lue said. “Him shooting the ball as well he’s been shooting as of late is unbelievable. I told him before when I got here he could always shoot the basketball, but he always says he’s not a jump shooter.
“But when he’s making his jump shot, that opens up everything else for him. So, I think he sees that and realizes that, and he just has to take every open shot he has with confidence.”
James and the Cavs won’t be back on the court again until their matchup with the Bulls in Chicago on Monday
POSTED 12/02/2017 23:05
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Greg Goth
