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Wrap-Up -- On Tuesday night at The Q, the Cavaliers were without one-third of their Big Three and still managed to manhandle a red-hot Grizzlies squad. On Wednesday night in Memphis, the Cavaliers were without the entire trio – and the results were predictably different.
Even without the services of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, the Wine and Gold were still able to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to two early in the third quarter. But they simply didn’t have enough ammo to hold the fort – falling, 93-85, on Wednesday night at the Grindhouse.
Going with a starting five of DeAndre Liggins, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Mike Dunleavy and the irrepressible Tristan Thompson, Cleveland shot just 37 percent from the floor, including 36 percent from long-range.
The Cavaliers were paced by James Jones, who came off the bench to notch 15 points – going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, 5-for-8 from the floor overall.
Rookie Kay Felder was also impressive off the bench, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting, canning both triples he attempted and adding three boards, four assists and a pair of steals.
Tristan Thompson, who hasn’t had a night off in 393 straight contests, was supposed to see limited action in the second half of the home-and-home back-to-back wound up logging 28 minutes and led the Wine and Gold with 11 boards – his 15th game this season grabbing double-digit boards.
Getting the spot start, Mike Dunleavy chipped in with 11 points and six boards. J.R. Smith, who snapped out of a funk in Tuesday night’s win in Cleveland, struggled from the floor again – finishing with eight points on 4-for-15 shooting, missing all three treys he attempted.
Marc Gasol – who missed Tuesday night’s contest – doubled-up for Memphis on Wednesday, finishing with 17 points and 11 boards. But, like the Cavaliers, it was a reserve who led the Grizz in scoring, with Troy Daniels finishing with 20 points – going 7-for-13 from the floor, 4-of-8 from long-distance.
The shorthanded Cavs have their five-game winning streak snapped in the Grindhouse.
The Cavaliers were no match for Memphis in the paint – losing the rebounding battle, 55-40, and getting outscored by a 20-3 mark in second-chance scoring.
Turning Point -- When the Grizzlies went into the halftime locker room up 11, it looked like they’d coast home in the second half. But the Wine and Gold opened the second stanza on a 7-0 run and eventually cut Memphis’ lead to just two – 47-45 – on J.R. Smith’s pretty baseline turnaround.
But Marc Gasol and Tony Allen began heating up from the floor and the duo keyed a Memphis outburst that would see them close the quarter on a 27-5 run.
Gasol and Allen combined for 15 points in the third – two fewer than the Cavaliers posted as a team – while Memphis’ reserves were a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor in the period.
By the Numbers – .737 … James Jones’ three-point percentage so far this season – going 14-for-19 from beyond the arc.
Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, on his team’s effort on Wednesday night …
”I thought our guys did a good job of trying to find one another. They were switching one through five, switching some of the pick and rolls, and switching out on some of the pin-down stuff. So, we did a good job of handling that, coming back and holding this team to 43 percent shooting on the field. We competed, but at the end we didn’t win the game.”
Up Next -- After Wednesday night’s loss in Memphis, the Wine and Gold return to The Q where they’ll take on D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers on Saturday night at The Q. After that, it’s another mid-week road-and-home, back-to-back – traveling to Milwaukee for a Tuesday night matchup before welcoming the Bucks to The Q on Wednesday. The following Friday, the Cavaliers welcome the Brooklyn Nets to town for their final tune-up before Golden State comes to Cleveland for a huge Christmas Day martchup.