var $ = jQuery.noConflict();
var gameID = '0021700734', seasonYear = '2017', statsCat = 'pts', //will default to pts, other possible categories: reb ast blk statspack, gameCode;
$(document).ready(function(){ loadrecapdata(gameID,seasonYear,statsCat);
//The 1st variable is the game ID for the specific game //the 2nd variable is the year for the feed, this is the YYYY in which the season starts. IE for the 2017-18 season the year variable needs to be 2017
});
Wrap-Up -- Maybe for the first time this month, the Cavaliers look like they’re having fun again.
After righting the ship against Indy on Friday night at The Q to temporarily snap out of a midseason funk, the Wine & Gold scored 30-plus in three quarters and clamped down defensively in the fourth – blowing past the Pistons, 121-104, on Sunday night in Cleveland.
Other than a sloppy second quarter, the Cavaliers looked solid in the win – using a late third-quarter push to give themselves some breathing room and closing the contest on a 27-9 run to drop Detroit by double-digits for the second time this season.
In an attempt to turn January’s tide, Coach Tyronn Lue made a lineup change before Friday night’s win over the Pacers. And he went with an unusual lineup to close out Sunday’s win – utilizing LeBron James at the point with a combination of Channing Frye, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder and Jeff Green to close out the affair.
LeBron posted a ‘quadruple’-double on Friday night – committing six of his career-high 11 miscues in the fourth quarter. But he was razor-sharp in the final period tonight, netting nine of his game-high 25 points in the fourth – going 3-of-5 in the period, adding five assists, four boards and a steal.
On the night, James finished 8-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the stripe, adding a game-high 14 assists and eight boards to his total.
Kevin Love doubled-up for the fourth time in his last five outings – tallying 20 points and a team-high 11 boards, going 8-for-14 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from long-range in the win.
J.R. Smith followed up his season-high 23-point performance in Friday’s victory with another solid showing on Sunday – finishing with 15 points, going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Over his last two games, Swish has gone 11-for-20 from three-point range.
Isaiah Thomas rounded out the Cavalier starters in double-figures, finishing with 14 points and seven assists despite not seeing action in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland’s second unit – playing without Dwyane Wade for the second straight game – had another solid collective effort, combining for 38 points, with Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder leading the way with a dozen points apiece. Korver went 3-of-7 from deep – his first game of multiple threes since January 11 while Crowder was an efficient 4-of-6 from the floor in his second straight game off the bench.
LBJ tallies 25 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds in, 121-104, win over Pistons.
Anthony Tolliver and Tobias Harris each notched 20 points for the Pistons – playing without their regular starting backcourt of Reggie Jackson and Avery Bradley. Andre Drummond added to his Eastern Conference-leading total – registering his 33rd double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 boards.
On the night, the Cavaliers shot 51 percent from the floor and went 22-of-26 from the stripe – outrunning the Pistons, 20-4, on the fastbreak and canning 15 triples in the victory.
Turning Point -- The obvious turning point of Sunday’s win was Cleveland’s final push – turning a game that was tied at 95-apiece with 7:33 to play into what will look like lopsided win on Monday morning.
But it was the Wine & Gold’s late-third quarter run that actually changed the game.
With 3:02 remaining in the period, the Cavaliers found themselves down, 85-80, after Andre Drummond crushed an alley-oop dish from Ish Smith. But Isaiah Thomas scored five quick points, Kyle Korver drilled a triple that rattled home and Jeff Green punctuated Cleveland’s surge with a monster jam in the quarter’s closing seconds – turning a five-point deficit into a five-point lead heading into the fourth.
By the Numbers – .846 … Cavaliers’ free throw percentage on Sunday night, the 25th time this season that Cleveland – the league’s second-best free throw shooting squad (.801) – has shot 80 percent or better from the stripe.
Quotable – Channing Frye, on Cleveland’s fourth quarter performance on Sunday …
”I think we have a lot of firepower and lot of guys that do a lot of different things – roll, dribble, pass, shoot – so that’s the way we’ve been successful. I think it creates movement and I think it helps us on the defensive end. We’re tough when Jeff (Green) is driving downhill, Isaiah is driving downhill and then you’ve got a big fella going downhill with shooters. So I think we were playing pretty unselfish. The ball was moving, the ball was finding energy and guys were playing pretty good.”
Up Next -- Following Sunday’s victory over Detroit at The Q, the Wine & Gold travel to Motown for a quick rematch with Stan Van Gundy’s squad on Tuesday night at Little Caesar’s Arena. The following night, the Cavaliers close out the month of January against the Heat at The Q. On Saturday night, it’s a marquee showdown against James Harden and the Rockets in Cleveland. After that contest, Tyronn Lue’s squad plays four of their next five on the road heading into the All-Star Break.