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Wrap-Up -- Who's ready for some Playoff basketball?!
Thursday's nationally-televised matchup at The Q had Playoff implications with the Cavs and Wizards looking to solidify and improve their respective positions between the third and seventh seeds in the East. And as a microcosm of the current postseason picture, the game went back and fourth up until the very end.
Cedi Osman's steal and ensuing free throws in the closing seconds capped off a 32-11 run for the Wine & Gold down the stretch as the Cavs came away with the 119-115 victory - their fifth straight win overall and eighth straight at The Q.
LeBron James put his head down and attacked in the final quarter scoring 13 of his game-high 33 points in fueling the comeback. James would go on to add nine rebounds and a team-high 14 assists on 12-of-20 shooting.
Early on, it appeared as though the Wine & Gold would cruise to their tenth win in 11 tries as they jumped out to 15 point lead midway through the second quarter. But the Wizards went on a run to trim the Cavs lead to 59-54 at the half.
The Wizards would carry that momentum into the second half, and by the time they went on a 19-6 run to close the third quarter, had taken a 90-82 lead heading into the fourth. In the third, Washington outscored the Cavs, 36-23.
Washington continued to push the tempo, and with eight straight points by Mike Scott followed by back-to-back triples from Tomas Satoransky and Bradley Beal, the Wizards took a commanding 104-87 lead with 7:35 to play.
That’s when the Cavs slowly chipped away at the lead, going on a 23-6 run and with a pair of free throws by Rodney Hood had come all the way back to knot the game up at 110 with 1:50 remaining.
Balanced scoring attack helps Cavs rally past Wizards in fourth.
From there, the Cavs and Wiz would go back-and-forth in the final minute. With the Cavs trailing 115-114, Jeff Green fought for an offensive rebound and ended up drawing a foul to send him to the charity stripe where he knocked down both to give the Wine & Gold a one-point lead with 21.4 tics to go.
On the next possession, John Wall's jumper fell short and the rebound bounced to LeBron James who was immediately fouled. LBJ split the pair to give the Cavs the 117-115 advantage.
Wall then streaked down the floor, got cut off in the paint and attempted to kick it out to the three-point line. But that’s when Cedi Osman stepped in the passing lane for the aforementioned theft to seal the victory.
Despite Wall’s missed shot and turnover in the closing moments, the five-time All-Star had his best performance since returning back from a knee injury which recently sidelined him for 27 games. Wall recorded a team-high 28 points on 10-20 (.500) shooting, a game-high tying 14 assists, four rebounds and a game-high three steals in 38 minutes.
With both Cavs point guards sidelined (George Hill - ankle, Jose Calderon - hamstring) Head Coach Tyronn Lue was dealt a challenge in his first game back after missing the last nine due to health issues. Coach Lue inserted Cedi Osman into the starting lineup and had a number of players running the point, mainly LeBron James and Jeff Green.
The move payed off as LBJ dished out 14 dimes and Green got into a great offensive rhythm. Green recorded 21 points on 8-10 (.800) shooting and one steal in 32 minutes.
Kevin Love contributed 16 points, going 4-6 (.667) from deep, six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Rounding out the Cavaliers double-figure scorers were Kyle Korver (13), Rodney Hood (11) and Jordan Clarkson (10).
Turning Point -- With both team's having and blowing double-digit leads, Thursday's turning point simply came down to Osman's last steal and final free throws to seal the deal.
By the Numbers – 50 … double-doubles for LeBron James this season following his 33 point, 14 assist performance on Thursday. With his 50 double-doubles, James became just the second player in franchise history to reach that mark (53 – Brad Daugherty, 1990-91).
Quotable – Kevin Love, on getting Coach Lue back …
“It was great. It felt like we had our leader back. Knowing that – like I mentioned the other night – how great of a job LD (Larry Drew) did and has done with Ty Lue being out. It was good having him back and getting us ready for these last three games and heading into the playoffs.”
Up Next -- It's a high-stakes visit to Philly on Friday for a meeting with the red-hot Sixers. The Cavs close out the regular season with a home-and-home matchup next week against the Knicks, traveling to the Big Apple on Monday and back to The Land for Fan Appreciation Night on Wednesday.