Cavaliers fall to Spurs in overtime 118-115 
​ BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Most NBA players would tell you that every game on their 82-game schedule is difficult. “Those guys get paid too” is the common phrase players offer when assessing their prospects against opposing teams. But for teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, amongst the NBA’s elite, there are only a handful of teams that can give them an undoubtedly stiff test. The San Antonio Spurs are one of those teams.

The Cavs hosted the Spurs Saturday night in a primetime matchup between two teams near the top of the league. San Antonio arrived in Cleveland with the second-best record in the NBA, while the Cavs have the best record in the Eastern Conference (30-12) and the third-best record overall.

After a thrilling back-and-forth battle that needed overtime to settle, the Spurs escaped Cleveland with a hard-fought 118-115 victory without starting center Pau Gasol or starting point guard Tony Parker.

“We played a good team tonight,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “We turned the basketball over in the second half, missed 10 free throws again. It’s hard to beat a good team who executes and they’re disciplined.”

The Cavs and Spurs found themselves tied at 14 points apiece with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter, displaying why both teams are so highly regarded around the league. Cleveland closed the quarter with a 19-8 run to take a 33-22 lead into the second quarter, but the Spurs quickly used a 19-2 run to take a 41-35 lead with 7:20 to play until halftime. Cleveland battled back to take a 58-57 lead into the half.

Both teams were extremely efficient from the field in the first half. The Cavs were shooting 53 percent after two quarters, only to be outdone by the Spurs, which shot 58 percent in the half. When Cavs shooting guard Iman Shumpert sank a jump shot as the third quarter expired, Cleveland took an 89-84 lead, setting up an entertaining fourth. Unfortunately for the Cavs, the first half of the fourth quarter belonged to Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard scored the first seven points of the fourth, capped by a three-pointer that gave San Antonio a 91-89 lead. When he made a 13-foot floater with 7:45 to play in regulation, the Spurs took a 98-92 lead, largely accrued by Leonard’s 12 early points in the quarter. When Leonard assisted Spurs point guard Patty Mills for a three-pointer with 5:50 remaining, San Antonio took its largest lead of the night, 103-94. Unfortunately for San Antonio, Leonard didn’t score in the final 7:45 of regulation.

After Mills’ three-pointer, Cleveland immediately used a 13-4 run to tie the game at 107, capped by a deep LeBron James three-pointer that he seemed to launch from Lake Erie. Leonard missed a floater with just under 15 seconds to play in the fourth, Cavs center Tristan Thompson secured the rebound and Cleveland had the ball for the final play of regulation. However, James wasn’t able to repeat his magic from moments prior, missing a step-back three-pointer at the buzzer. The Saturday night shootout headed to overtime.

Kyrie Irving sank a 15-foot jumper with 2:13 to play in overtime that gave the Cavs a 113-111 lead. After Irving’s shot, however, Cleveland never led again. Mills drained a triple on the Spurs’ ensuing possession, San Antonio power forward LaMarcus Aldridge splashed a jump shot that gave the Spurs a 116-113 lead with 38 seconds to play and Gregg Popovich’s ballclub iced the game with a Leonard dunk with four second showing.

“Overall, it really hurt when LeBron got his first early foul and we had to get him off of Kawhi,” Lue said. “Kawhi’s a tough player. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical. To match him with ‘Bron, power for power, which we were able to do in the fourth quarter, really shut him down pretty much in that fourth quarter.

“It was good for us, but he got his third foul early so we couldn’t put him on him. It was just tough matchups for us.”

James and Irving each finished with 29 points apiece; Irving added nine assists while James contributed seven rebounds and six assists.

Kevin Love returned to the Cavs lineup after missing Thursday’s game against the Phoenix Suns with soreness in his lower back. He recorded his 25th double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but he came up with nothing but air on the game-tying three-pointer as overtime expired.

Leonard finished with a career-high 41 points, six rebounds and five assists to push San Antonio’s record to 34-9 on the season. While the Spurs are one of the marquee franchises in the league, they consistently draw few headlines during NBA regular seasons.

“Maybe Pop has it in his contract to fly under the radar,” Lue said. “But they’re good every year. Teams never talk about them, the media never talks about them, but every year you look up, they’re top two or three in the NBA record-wise and always competing for a championship.”

The Cavs don’t have the luxury of flying under the radar with the world’s best basketball player and other stars surrounding him. A full season into being an NBA head coach, Lue still isn’t fond of being in the spotlight.

“I still don’t like it,” Lue said. “But, it comes with the job, I guess.”

With the loss to San Antonio, Cleveland lost its first game this season when scoring at least 110 points (21-1). The Cavs and Spurs won’t meet again until late March to complete their two-game season series.

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​POSTED 01/21/2016 23:59
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