(On any concerns with starting off quarters with leads and giving it back): "Ironically, sometimes the toughest thing that can happen is for you to run out to such a big lead early. It brings with it a little bit of a psychological letdown and also gives the other team the feeling that it can’t get much worse if we just relax and play. It’s an interesting dynamic. I wish I had the secret to making 20 (point leads to) 40 and 40 (to) 60, but it’s not very realistic in any basketball league that I know of. I don’t have a specific plan for not playing well early and gaining the lead. It’s almost an unanswerable question."
(On how Charlotte came back from a 22-point deficit): "There have been different times during the year where we’ve run out to a big lead and then we went to our normal rotations and we didn’t come in with the same energy and with the same zest I would say for playing the game. The other (team is) playing too and naturally if they pick it up and we don’t maintain our level of intensity or performance, again because you’re playing in this league where guys are all quality players, you’re going to run into some difficulties and that’s basically what happened."
(On the importance of LeBron James’, Kevin Love’s and Kyrie Irving’s effort): "It means a lot because they’re lead players for the Cavaliers, and when they’re engaged, performing the way they were, I think it lifts everybody up. Sometimes when those guys are playing at such a high level and you sub them out, you have to get impact from those coming in. You gotta maintain the level. It’s not easy when you got guys at that level, but you’ve got to be able to maintain it."
(On the team’s defense): "We put an emphasis on things tonight obviously because we really had a good stretch of defensive play. Honestly, in our last five games, if I’m not mistaken, we were holding our opponents to 94 points per game and to a pretty good (defensive) field goal percentage number as well. The last couple of games on the road, OKC (Oklahoma City) we defended well I thought but against the Pelicans we did not. There were some very specific things we did not do and we talked about it a little bit in the pregame press conference. I think that we addressed that tonight, both in terms of our individual defense and our willingness to sacrifice for our teammate when he couldn’t handle his matchup.”
(On sustaining the lead throughout the game): “It’s definitely tough. For us, we just have to stay locked in. Obviously, on the other end, NBA teams are going to make runs and they did. They made a run and we were prepared for it. They gave us their best shot and we withstood it. It was just one of those games when it’s a good and a bad thing to get that big of a lead, especially in the first quarter. It’s obviously hard to withstand it, but we got the win tonight and that’s all that matters.”
(On Kevin Love’s performance tonight): “Tonight was definitely noticeable. We need that from him every single night on a consistent basis and I know he’s going to continue to (play that way). He can do it. He’s proven it, and he proved it tonight.”
(On the “ultimate factor” of their win tonight): “We defended. Not 48 minutes, we had a lull in the second quarter which allowed them to get back into the game and in the third quarter which really allowed them to get back into the game, but we sustained the effort. It was close to 48 minutes and it allowed us to win.”
(On being selfless with the ball): “That’s part of my game. We’re a very good team when everyone feels involved and it starts with me getting everyone involved, and still being aggressive. It’s the good ingredients for our team.”
(On the 21-0 run in the beginning of the game): “You never get too high or too low about it. You just keep playing the game. As fast as you can go on a 21-0 run, they can cut the lead down to two - in the third quarter. You just continue to work your habits, you share the ball, you defend and you play the game until there’s zeroes on the clock in the fourth.”
(On this game being one of his better defensive games of the season): “I think overall it was, especially in that first quarter. We came out and made a really great effort on them. It was a (21) point run. After watching the film last game, we knew we had a major letdown, especially in a game we felt like we could have won in New Orleans on a back-to-back. It was a good defensive showing for us.”
(On how he feels about the team’s defense right now): “I think we’re doing a good job. Last game was a setback for us. Like I mentioned, we broke down the film and saw where we went wrong and cleaned up a lot of it tonight. We still had a few lapses here and there. They’re (Hornets) a team that continues to come at you no matter the score and they play well against good teams. We have to continue to get better and we’re happy to be here for a five-game homestand. We’ll have a good practice tomorrow, check out film again and try to get better for Wednesday.”
(On his team’s overall play tonight): “After the first quarter our defense was good and we played well offensively. We played a good enough offensive game to win against a terrific team. Our first quarter defense was obviously poor. Guys came in off the bench and picked us up, and from there we played well.”
(On Charlotte’s first-quarter deficit): “(22) points in this league is certainly not a big deal, but when you’re playing a team like (the Cavs), they’ve got so many ways they can score. Our defense after the first quarter was pretty good and we played more than well enough offensively in the last three quarters, but down (22) against an elite team on the road is tough to overcome.”
(On Marvin Williams’ contribution tonight): “Marvin’s presence on the court definitely opened up space for the pick and roll game. The other guys made a lot of good plays, but a lot of it was (because) they had to guard us differently when he was out there.”
(On whether Charlotte’s comeback attempt tonight counts for anything): “Not really. We did fight back, but we couldn’t maintain like we should have. There were too many mistakes on the defensive end.”
(On his team’s defensive struggles): “That’s been a problem for us. (We’ve made) a lot of mistakes defensively. You can’t do that in this league, and especially not against (the Cavs). You’ve got to try to limit your mistakes. Every time we made a mistake, they made us pay.”
CAVALIERS NOTES:
- The Cleveland Cavaliers scored the first 21 points in the game and never trailed in a 97-88 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. It is the second time this season the Cavs did not trail (Indiana 11/29/14). The last time an NBA team scored at least the first 21 points in a game was February 21, 2004 when Portland opened up a 22-0 lead in a contest against Boston.
- Cleveland posted 28 assists and only 11 turnovers in the win. The Cavaliers are now 8-0 when they total 25 or more assists in a game and 6-1 when they record 11 or fewer turnovers. The Wine and Gold also outrebounded the Hornets 43-37 and move to 10-4 when beating its opponents on the glass.
- The Cavs have now won nine straight games against the East and are 12-3 against the Eastern Conference during the 2014-15 campaign. Cleveland has also won its last six at home (all against the East). During their home winning streak, Cleveland has outscored its opponents by an average of 14.3 points per game (106.8 to 92.5), while shooting .506 from the field, dishing out 25.0 assists and 12.5 turnovers. Defensively, the Wine and Gold have limited its opponents to .447 shooting from the field, including .324 from the three-point line during that stretch.
- Kevin Love recorded his 13th double-double this season and put together one of his best games as a Cavalier after finishing with 22 points on 7-14 (.500) shooting from the floor, including 4-9 (.444) from three-point range, a season-high 18 rebounds, five assists and a career-high tying four steals in 39 minutes. It was the first time in Love’s career in which he posted a stat line of at least 22 points, 18 boards, five assists and four steals, while it was his 26th career game with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Love also continued his strong first quarter play as he notched 12 points in the opening period, which was his ninth first quarter double-digit scoring effort this season.
- LeBron James collected his ninth double-double of the year after totaling a game-high 27 points on 11-19 (.579) shooting from the field, a season-high tying 13 assists, seven rebounds and a season-high three blocks in 40 minutes of action. Over James’ last three games, he has averaged 34.3 points, on 40-64 (.625) shooting and 6-10 (.600) from long range, 7.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 40.0 minutes.
- Kyrie Irving wrapped up his night with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds in 40 minutes. It was Irving’s 13th game this season in which he has recorded at least 15 point and five assists.
- Tristan Thompson added 10 points on 4-6 (.667) shooting from the floor, five boards and an assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Over his last six outings, Thompson has tallied four games of double-digit scoring and is averaging 11.8 points on .600 (27-45) shooting, 10,3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 30.0 minutes. He also has three double-doubles in that stretch.