Cavaliers get back on track pounding Brooklyn 124-116
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
If the Cleveland Cavaliers had lost to the Brooklyn Nets Friday night, you wouldn’t have trouble convincing anyone that Armageddon would soon be on the horizon. The Cavs entered Friday on a three-game losing streak having lost seven of their previous 11 contests, experiencing their worst tailspin of the season.
It’s one thing to lose to a New Orleans Pelicans team without Anthony Davis, or to the Sacramento Kings at home. But a loss to the Nets, which entered Quicken Loans Arena Friday with by far the worst record in the NBA, would have been one of the most mind-boggling occurrences in NBA history.
The Nets were without former All-Star Brook Lopez, while the Cavs had their ‘Big Three’ ready for action. Brooklyn proved to be just the remedy the Cavs (31-14) needed for their woes of late, pulling away from the Nets in the second half en route to a 124-116 victory.
“It feels good to get a win any way you can get it,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “They came out and played hard, and I thought in the third quarter we really took control of the game. That’s one win. We just gotta continue to keep building on this one.”
Cleveland’s trio of All-Stars once again led the way. LeBron James led Cleveland with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists, while Kyrie Irving added 28 points, four rebounds and six assists. Kevin Love notched his 28th double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Against the worst team in the league and struggling since the turn of the new year, you’d think the Cavs would want to bury the Nets (9-37) early. It seemed that way when a Tristan Thompson layup gave Cleveland a 19-11 lead with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter. However, Brooklyn battled back to tie the game at 23 and only trailed 27-25 when the first quarter ended.
It seemed like the Cavs had gotten the game under control when forward Richard Jefferson converted a reverse layup that gave Cleveland a 38-29 lead with 7:48 to play until halftime. But less than three minutes later, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie brought Brooklyn back within three, 41-38, with a layup of his own. Cleveland held a 55-47 lead at the half, but it took a Jefferson three-pointer at the buzzer for the Cavs to put some distance back between themselves and the severely undermanned Nets.
Relief for Cavs fans finally arrived in the third quarter as Cleveland began to put the game out of reach. When Love sank a three-pointer with 9:26 remaining in the quarter, the Cavs secured a 65-53. By the time Irving banked in a floater off glass and added a free throw because of a foul, Cleveland led 80-60 midway though the quarter. The spurt helped the Cavs cruise the rest of the way.
“To get a win makes you feel better, to get the taste out of our mouth and just get back on the winning track,” Lue said.
The Cavs seemed to need a win in the worst way to calm the drama that has surrounded the team of late, and a second straight win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday wouldn’t hurt.
“We’re the champs,” Lue said. “And right now we’re going through a tough stretch, but that’s nothing. Everyone goes through a tough stretch.
“Now you got to dig yourself out of it. We’re capable of doing it and we are going to do it. We are the champs, we do have a great team and we have the third best-record in the NBA right now, so we have to play like it.”
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POSTED 01/27/2016 23:45
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Greg Goth
