1-19-17 vs. Suns

clenadams

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Wrap-Up -- There’s nothing about a so-so six-game road trip that a little home cookin’ at The Q can’t cure.

And on Thursday night in Cleveland, the Cavaliers finally looked like themselves again – racking up 29 assists and 19 three-pointers, wearing down the feisty Suns, 118-105, to improve to 30-11 overall at the official halfway point of the season.

In their return home after finishing 3-3 on the recent roadie, the Wine and Gold pounced on the Suns right from the opening tip, building a 22-point lead and –unlike their matchup two Sundays ago in Phoenix – never allowed the Suns back in it after intermission.

Before the game, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were announced as starters in the 2016-17 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.

LeBron – the Conference’s top vote-getter – will be making his 13th All-Star appearance, joining Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Cousy and Michael Jordan as the only quintet in league history to start a baker’s dozen. Kyrie will be making his fourth trip to the midseason classic, his second start.

The dynamic duo looked every bit the part on Thursday night.

Kyrie shook off a rough road trip to lead both squads with 26 points – going 10-for-20 from the floor to go with four assists and a pair of steals. Irving also went 4-of-5 from the stripe – missing just his second free throw this month, going 34-for-36 over that stretch.

LeBron notched his 17th double-double of the year and barely missed his fourth triple-double – finishing with 21 points, a game-high 15 assists, nine boards, a pair of blocked shots and a steal in the victory.

The third member of Cleveland’s Big Three – Kevin Love – missed the second half of Monday’s loss in Oakland with a sore lower back and didn’t suit up on Thursday. In his place, James Jones got his first start of the year and answered the call as only he can – netting 14 points in 20 minutes, going 5-of-8 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from long-range.

Iman Shumpert joined the starting lineup three games ago and has been rock-solid in each. Against Phoenix, the sixth-year guard finished with a season-high 17 points, going 6-for-8 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from deep.  Over those three starts, Shump is averaging 16.0 points on 63 percent shooting, including 61 percent (11-for-18) from beyond the arc.

The Cavs got very good production from their bench against Phoenix – especially from former Sun, Channing Frye, who notched his first double-double of the season with 18 points and  a team-high 10 boards.

All told, Cleveland’s reserves contributed eight of the squad’s 19 triples – the Cavs’ highest total since dropping 22 on the Knicks in early December.

LeBron James tallies a near triple-double as the Wine and Gold cruise past the Suns.

The Suns’ outstanding young backcourt of Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe combined for 43 points and 17 assists, but shot just 11-for-33 in the process. Phoenix’s ageless wonder, Tyson Chandler, finished with 22 points and 16 boards – his sixth straight game of at least 15.

The Cavaliers shot 51 percent from the floor and 44 percent from long-distance while limiting their turnovers to just a dozen – a welcome sign with the Spurs set to roll in on Saturday night.

Turning Point -- After their recent sojourn out West, the Wine and Gold didn’t need a nail-biter in their return to Cleveland – and thankfully Thursday’s game was never really a contest.

After an early back-and-forth, the Cavaliers took a double-digit lead late in the first quarter. By the second period, they’d built a 20-point lead and in the second stanza, they never allowed the Suns to get closer than 11.

By the Numbers – .846 … Cavaliers’ winning percentage (11-2) on two days’ rest this season – the most wins and third best winning percentage in the league so far this season.

Quotable – Channing Frye, on the Cavaliers reserves stepping up on Thursday …

”I think when guys go down, other guys have to step up and like I said before the game, James (Jones) is a consummate professional. Not only is he in everyone’s ear, but he shows everyone how hard it is to stay in shape and be ready at every moment. He came out there and gave us great minutes. Injuries are going to happen, and I think that’s the good thing about this team – guys step up and do a great job.”

Up Next -- After their one-sided win over the Suns on Thursday night, the Cavaliers can prepare for a big one on Saturday when they welcome the Spurs to Cleveland for nationally-televised affair. On Monday night, they travel to the Big Easy to face Anthony Davis and the Pelicans before wrapping up the month of January with three of their next four at home: taking on the Kings next Wednesday, the Nets on Friday and Russell Westbrook and the Thunder in a Sunday afternoon affair at The Q. Cleveland closes the month the following night when they travel to Dallas.

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#CavsSuns Game Photos - January 19, 2017

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After wrapping up a 12-day road trip on Monday night in Oakland, the Cavaliers finally return to The Q – where they’ll play five of the next six, beginning with Thursday night’s matchup with the Suns.

Cleveland went 3-3 on the trip, but weren’t particularly sharp in any game outside of Friday night’s win in Sacramento.

On MLK Day, the Wine and Gold endured their worst loss of the year –126-91, shooting 35 percent from the floor and 27 from beyond the arc while committing four more turnovers (15) than they had assists (11) – the fifth time in their last six contests that they’d done so.

The Wine and Gold dropped the Suns, 120-116, in the second contest of the six-gamer – running their win streak against Phoenix to four straight, outscoring the Suns by 10.0 over that stretch.

The last-place Suns come to Cleveland having dropped three of their previous four, but that one victory was a home win over the Spurs on Saturday night.

It’s not quite the marquee point guard matchup that we saw on Monday night, but the battle between Kyrie Irving and Eric Bledsoe – who’s returned from a knee injury that ended his previous season with a vengeance – averaging 20.1 ppg this season and leading Phoenix in assists at 5.9 apg.

Bledsoe – one of just six players in the league averaging at least 20 points, five assists and five boards per game – led both teams in their previous meeting at Talking Stick Resort Arena with 31 points and eight assists, going 12-for-18 from the floor and 4-of-8 from long-range in the loss.

Kyrie was very good that night as well – finishing with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting and adding seven assists. That win in Phoenix was also Kyrie’s most efficient game of the trip, despite the seven turnovers.  Excluding that victory, Irving shot 35 percent from the floor and 29 percent from deep, committing 15 turnovers compared to 16 assists.

Like the rest of his squad, the three-time All-Star is more than ready for some home cookin’ over the next two weeks.

There weren’t many bright spots on Monday night at Oracle Arena, but the play of newly-christened starter, Iman Shumpert, and the newest Cavalier, Kyle Korver, were certainly two of them.

In just his third start of the season – second straight on the trip – Shumpert was rock-solid once again, finishing with 15 points and a team-high nine boards, going 5-of-10 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Kyle Korver wasn’t far behind, adding 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting, going 3-of-8 from deep.

In the last two games of the trip, Shumpert averaged 15.5 points per – shooting 58 percent from the floor, 55 percent from deep. For Korver, it was 14.5 ppg on 55 percent from the floor, 50 percent from long-range.

The Cavs will need both to be sharp on Thursday night when they face the Suns’ leading scorer, explosive sophomore Devin Booker. The 6-6 shooting guard from Kentucky comes to Quicken Loans Arena on a white-hot tear.

Over his last four outings – including a 28-point performance against the Wine and Gold – Booker is averaging 32.8 points per, including back-to-back 39-point outbursts against the Mavericks and Spurs. In the Suns’ win over San Antonio, Booker went 12-for-22 from the floor, 3-of-5 from deep and 12-for-12 from the stripe.

In Cleveland’s four-point win over the Suns two Sundays ago, LeBron James notched 12 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, going 6-for-18 from the floor to go with eight boards and a pair of assists, but also tying Kyrie with six turnovers on the night.

James came into the trip on a tear, but even the King is not infallible to the rigors of the road – averaging 18.7 points on 40 percent shooting from the floor, 31 percent from long-distance over the final three games. James, who prides himself on efficiency, was also not immune to the team’s recent bout with the turnover bug – averaging 5.0 miscues per over his last 10 outings.

On Thursday night, he’ll face off against third-year forward T.J. Warren, who’s having his best season as a pro. The former NC State star was very good against Cleveland in their previous meeting, finishing with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting.

LeBron will also have to work his way through Warren’s rugged backup, P.J. Tucker, who had a solid night himself against Cleveland 11 days ago, adding 10 points, four boards and a pair of steals – going 4-for-6 from the floor for the Suns.

In his 16th season, Suns big man Tyson Chandler seems to have barely lost a step. Chandler is one of just three players – joining Charles Barkley and Moses Malone to average double-digit boards in their 16th season or later.

The Compton, CA. native has been excellent on the boards all season, and especially over the last two weeks – grabbing at least 15 rebounds in five straight games – doubling-up in two of those contests, including a 10-point, 15-rebound effort against the Wine and Gold on January 8.

Chandler missed the Suns’ previous contest against Utah with the flu, but he should be ready to roll on Thursday night in Cleveland.

In the Cavs’ recent win over Phoenix, Tristan Thompson snagged 10 boards, four off the offensive glass, to go with eight points. Tristan, who finished with a team-best four blocked shots on Monday night in Oakland, ranks 4th in the league with 3.7 offensive boards per contest – having snagged at least four rebounds off the offensive glass in a team-high 21 occasions.

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On Thursday, January 19, 2016, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Cavs – Suns game (7:00 p.m.) and the Blue Jackets – Senators game (7:00 p.m.). Please refer to these programming details, available online HERE.

Cavaliers Live Pregame Show begins at 6:30 p.m. | Tipoff at 7:00 p.m.

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