Wrap-Up -- Wednesday night’s matchup with Dallas might not have been the best game of the season. But it might be the strangest.
With LeBron James getting the night off, the Cavaliers proceeded to build (and nearly) blow a 20-point lead in the second quarter and again with an 18-point edge in the fourth. Even when it appeared they had the game completely sewn up – taking a four-point lead on Kyrie Irving’s free throws with 2.3 to play – Dalllas’ Deron Williams banked home a three-pointer at the final buzzer.
As it turned out, Williams’ triple only mattered in the final boxscore as the Wine and Gold held on for the 99-98 victory – their 12th win in the last 14 games against a Western Conference foe.
With the postseason now just 15 games away and Coach Tyronn Lue giving certain starters some rest, it was LeBron’s turn on Wednesday. And with the four-time MVP on the bench, the other two-thirds of Cleveland’s big three took charge.
Kyrie Irving went off for a game-high 33 points – his sixth 30-point game of the season – going 13-for-28 from the floor and adding five boards and the biggest steal of the night, stripping Dirk Nowitzki on Dallas’ second-last possession with 2.9 to play.
Kevin Love had his best game in weeks -- notching his team-leading 28th double-double of the season with 23 points, a game-high 18 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. The three-time All-Star – who reached that double-double by intermission, the fifth time he’s done that this season – went 8-of-19 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe.
The Cavaliers led by as many as seven in the first quarter extended their advantage to 20 points – 50-30 – midway through the second. But Dallas put together a 19-2 run that got them within striking distance at the break.
Cleveland maintained a double-digit edge through the third period and again pushed the lead to 18 – 89-71 – with 9:31 to go. But the Mavericks this time went on a 26-6 to cut the lead to just a deuce with 2:59 to play.
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Kyrie gets the clutch steal.
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Kyrie put the Cavs back up four on a layup with 1:36 to play, but Dirk Nowitzki’s 14-footer got the Mavericks back to within two. An Irving turnover gave Dallas the ball back with 16.6 to play, and Kyrie found himself isolated on Dallas’ future Hall of Famer with the clock winding down. He picked Dirk and was fouled – canning both free throws to give Cleveland (just) enough breathing room for the win.
Channing Frye posted another strong effort off the bench, finishing with 14 points in 18 minutes of action – going 3-of-5 from long-distance, 5-of-7 overall, to go with three boards and a steal.
J.R. Smith was the only other Cavalier to tally double-figures, finishing with 13 points on 6-for-17 shooting. Swish was just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in Wednesday’s win, but for the 38th time this season, the Wine and Gold knocked down double-digit triples.
The Cavaliers dominated Dallas on the boards, 48-32, and in second-chance opportunities – outscoring the Mavs, 22-4. The Wine and Gold also allowed just four fastbreak points on the night – one game after holding Utah scoreless on the break.
Turning Point -- NBA victories can’t always be a thing of beauty. And sometimes to get the win, a team just has to figure out how to stop the bleeding. In that respect, Wednesday’s win had two turning points.
The first came late in the first half when, after Dallas’ massive run to cut Cleveland’s lead to three, Kevin Love was able to drain a three-pointer with just under a minute to play in the period. Delly’s layup on the Cavs’ next possession improved the lead back up to eight and kept the Mavs from completely killing momentum.
In the fourth quarter, after the Mavs’ frenetic final flurry got them to within two, Kyrie Irving’s cutting layup to stave off the Dallas rally was just enough to secure Cleveland’s 48th win of the season.
By the Numbers – 14.3 … Channing Frye’s scoring average over the last four games, shooting .677 from the floor, including a .636 mark on three-point attempts – going 14-of-22 from beyond the arc.
Quotable – Kevin Love, on getting the win without LeBron James …
”Coach Lue mentioned it to myself and Kyrie and we know that we have to pick up the slack when LeBron is out. He brings so much to this team. Kyrie came out attacking and I think we came out playing physical. We took two of their best runs and were able to stay over the top, so I think it was definitely on us and we came to play tonight.”
Up Next – After their one-game layover against Dallas, the Wine and Gold get right back on the road – traveling to the Sunshine State for a weekend back-to-back. On Friday night, they’ll try to make it 14 straight against the Magic when they travel to Orlando to close out the season series. On Saturday night, it’s a different story as Cleveland tries to break a 10-game losing streak in Miami when they face Dwyane Wade and the Heat for the final time in the regular season. The Cavaliers return home next week – matching up with the Nuggets next Monday night followed by Milwaukee’s last visit to The Q two nights later.