12-9-16 vs. Heat

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Breaking Down The 'W' - December 9, 2016

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#CavsHeat Game Photos - December 9, 2016

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After pulling away from the Raptors on Monday and thumping the Knicks wire-to-wire on Wednesday night, the Wine and Gold’s early season funk is now in the rear-view mirror. And Cleveland can continue to make hay when the banged-up Heat roll into town to tip off a three-game homestand.

In their most recent win, the Cavaliers crushed Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks – with the Big Three all topping the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season in a contest whose greatest drama was which starter would win the water bottle challenge in the game’s closing moments.

After a couple weeks (mostly) away from The Q, the Cavaliers return home, where they’ve gone 9-2 so far this season – averaging 115.3 points per – to take on the Miami Heat, who’ve they’ve gone 3-0 against at home since LeBron’s return, winning those games by an average of almost 19 points apiece.

The shorthanded Heat come to Cleveland having dropped five of their last seven, including Wednesday night’s eight-point defeat in Atlanta.

It’s hard to trace back exactly when the Cavaliers became the deadly three-point shooting squad that they have – but the genie’s out of the bottle now, and on Wednesday night, they hit 20-plus for the third time this season, canning a franchise-record 22 bombs in their blowout win over New York. (And with J.R. Smith still sidelined with a hyperextended left knee.)

The Cavs shot 55 from beyond the arc against the Knicks and currently lead the league in three-point percentage (.401) – ranking second in made triples (276) and threes made per game (13.8), hitting double-digit treys in 19 of their first 20 games of the campaign.

Individually, Cleveland has four players – Channing Frye (.481, 1st), Iman Shumpert (.449, 7th), Kevin Love (.422, 14th) and Kyrie Irving (.421, 16th) – ranked in the league’s top 20 in three-point percentage. And that doesn’t include James Jones, who canned all three long-range attempts on Wednesday night and is currently shooting 79 percent (11-for-14) from beyond the arc this season.

None of the above is great news for a Heat team that’s seen three of their last four foes shoot 40 percent or better from long-distance.

The Heat have dealt with a rash of injuries this season and, at 7-15, find themselves at the bottom of the Southeast Division. But one bright spot has been the play of their tenacious point guard, Goran Dragic.

The well-traveled eight-year vet comes into Friday’s contest averaging 23.0 points and 8.2 assists over his last six outings – including a 29-point, seven-assist outburst against the Knicks earlier this week. Dragic has notched double-figure scoring in all 11 of his most recent matchups with Cleveland – including 20+ in four of those games and an 18-point, 11-helper effort in a Heat victory last March in Miami.

On Friday night, he’ll have to deal with an opponent who’s been even better this season – Kyrie Irving, winner of the previously-mentioned water bottle challenge, who comes into the contest having scored at least 20 points in a career-best 11 straight games.

And as great as he’s been scoring the basketball this season, the three-time All-Star has been very good dishing the rock of late – averaging seven assists per over his last three appearances.

With a trio of superstar talent across the Cavaliers starting lineup (and an electric shooting guard like J.R. Smith), sometimes it’s easy to overlook the squad’s blue collar big, Tristan Thompson.

On Wednesday night, as Cleveland rained down a record number of triples, Tristan somehow managed to “quietly” grab 20 rebounds, one shy of his career high and one more than the entire Knicks starting lineup.

The former Longhorn is having another rock-solid season in the middle – averaging a career-best 10.3 boards in 2016-17, good for 13th in the NBA.

When Double-T suits up for his 391st consecutive contest on Friday night, he’ll be going against one of the best big men in the East – Hassan Whiteside, who’s led the Heat in rebounding in all 22 games this season, a franchise record. Whiteside’s 17 double-doubles this season places him second in the league, behind only Russell Westbrook – with the former Marshall standout averaging 17.6 points and 14.7 boards.

With Channing Frye out for tonight’s affair – excused by the team for personal reasons – and both Kevin Love and J.R. Smith listed as questionable, the Wine and Gold’s second unit gets another opportunity to shine.

Over this past week, it’s been DeAndre Liggins – who made the squad as a Training Camp invitee and who’s been very good in back-to-back wins over Toronto and New York. The D-League’s two-time Defensive Player of the Year has brought some true defensive intensity (and some timely shooting) to the game and lifted a Cavaliers team that had fallen into a lull after running out to their best start in franchise history.

Iman Shumpert, who came into the season healthy and distraction-free, has had a career year shooting the basketball – going .483 from the floor, .449 from long-range and .870 from the stripe, all career-highs. Richard Jefferson had been in a shooting slump before last week, but has gone 9-for-13 from long-range over his past five outings and James Jones, who’s maybe never been in a shooting slump, has been nothing short of deadly from deep in limited opportunities this season.

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KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers vs. Heat

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Wrap-Up -- Now it just seems like last week’s three-game losing streak just made the Cavaliers mad.

The Wine and Gold won their third straight – the last two, including Friday night’s drubbing – by an average of 31 points, jumping all over a shorthanded Heat squad early and rolling to the 114-84 victory in an “80s Night” blowout at The Q.

As has been the case all year, the Big Three were almost unstoppable, combining for 78 points before Coach Lue pulled his power troika midway through the fourth quarter with a matchup against a tough Hornets team on tap tomorrow night in Cleveland.

Facing a banged-up Heat squad playing without Justise Winslow, James Johnson, Josh Richardson and Dion Waiters, the Wine and Gold wasted little time – running out to an 11-point edge at intermission and extending their lead methodically throughout the second stanza.

Kevin Love stayed red-hot – leading both teams with 28 points on 11-for-18 shooting and 15 boards, adding three assists, a steal and blocked shot. Over Cleveland’s three-game run, the three-time All-Star is averaging 25.6 points and 11.0 boards per. It was Love’s team-leading 14th double-double and his eighth 20-10 game of the season.

LeBron James eclipsed another historical milestone – passing Elvin Hayes and moving into 9th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with his 27th and final points of the game. Overall, the four-time MVP went 12-of-22 from the floor to go with eight boards, a game-high assist and three steals.

Kyrie Irving notched his 12th straight game of at least 20 points – finishing with 23 on 9-for-15 shooting, including 2-of-4 from long-distance, to go with three helpers in Friday night’s win.

Iman Shumpert was the only other Cavalier in double-figures – adding 10 points off the bench, going 4-for-8 from the floor, 2-of-4 from long-distance.

The Wine and Gold were excellent on both ends in Friday’s one-sided win. They shot a season-high 55 percent from the floor while holding Miami to 34 percent shooting – restricting them to 15 points in the fourth quarter on 4-for-24 shooting.

The Wine &amp; Gold win their third straight with the blowout victory against the Heat.

Cleveland also blocked a season-high nine shots – including three by DeAndre Liggins, who got his second straight start in place of J.R. Smith, who’s still nursing a hyperextended left knee suffered on Monday night in Toronto.

Turning Point -- The Cavaliers didn’t exactly go wire-to-wire as they did two nights ago in New York, but the Heat didn’t lead long on Friday – jumping out to a 2-0 lead on Hassan Whiteside’s turnaround jumper.

That was about as good as it would get for Eric Spoelstra’s squad – which scrapped hard during the first quarter and forced seven lead-changes. But the Wine and Gold began cooking immediately after intermission, using an 11-4 run to give themselves some breathing space and simply wearing down Miami the rest of the way.

By the Numbers – 93-31 | 53-12 | 14-2 … Cleveland’s record, respectively, when the Big Three play together (including postseason), their mark when the combo combines for 60-plus points and  their record when Kyrie, LeBron and Kevin Love each net over 20 points.

Quotable – LeBron James, on Kevin Love’s stellar play this season …

”It’s the Kevin Love of old, and this is everything we expected out of him. It’s what we want out of him. But it’s no added pressure for him. He’s going out and just playing his game right now. He’s shooting the ball extremely well, he’s rebounding at a high clip and he’s at a point where he’s just comfortable with everything.”

Up Next -- The Cavaliers will look to make it four straight when they welcome Kemba Walker and the Hornets to Cleveland for the second half of their weekend back-to-back on Saturday night at The Q. Following that matchup, it’s a mid-week home-and-home back-to-back against the Grizzlies – with David Fizdale’s squad making their lone visit on Tuesday night and the Cavaliers traveling to the Grindhouse for a Wednesday night affair.

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Orange Crush

After going 2-1 on their recent road trip, the Cavaliers return to Quicken Loans Arena for a three-game homestand, beginning on Friday night against the Miami Heat. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

This season, the Cavaliers are 9-2 at Quicken Loans Arena where they are averaging 115.3 points, which includes five contests with 120 points or more.

Everything You Need to Know
        From where to catch all the action to Friday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.

Get into the conversation with other die-hards.

Since March 25, 2014, Cleveland holds a 63-5 record when scoring at least 100 points at The Q. They have also won 35 straight home games when shooting at least .500 from the field.

One key to the Cavaliers success this season has been their ability to jump on teams early. In the first quarter this season, the Cavs are averaging 30.5 points on .486 from the field, including an NBA-best .461 (76-165) from the three-point line. Cleveland has tied or outscored their opponent in the first quarter in 16 of 20 games this season.

The Wine and Gold will look to get off to another fast start in hopes of getting the home crowd behind them as they welcome a depleted Miami squad.

With seven players on the shelf, including some main rotation guys, the Heat have struggled as of late dropping three straight heading into Friday's matchup.

Despite the Heat's struggles, their man in the middle, Hassan Whiteside, has put up some gaudy numbers averaging 18.0 points and 14.8 rebounds. Whiteside has led the team in rebounding in each of the 22 games this season, the longest overall rebound-leading streak in Heat history.

Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega

Programming Note: On Friday, December 9, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Cavs – Heat game (7:30 p.m.) and the Blue Jackets – Red Wings game (7:30 p.m.). To view TV listings, CLICK HERE.

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.

Status Update: (Cavs) - Mo Williams, (NWT), J.R. Smith, (Left Knee Hyperextension, Questionable), Channing Frye, (Excused for Personal Matter, Out), Kevin Love, (Low Back Spasms, Questionable)

Status Update: (Heat) - Luke Babbitt, (Strained Right Hip Flexor, Out), James Johnson, (Strained Right Rotator Cuff, Out), Josh Richardson, (Sprained Right Ankle, Out), Dion Waiters, (Pectineus Tear, Out), Justise Winslow, (Sore Left Wrist, Out), Chris Bosh, (NWT)

Since 2014-15, the Cavs are a perfect 3-0 versus Miami at The Q, winning by an average of 18.7 points over that stretch (109.7-91.0).

Cleveland is also averaging 26.7 assists on 41.0 field goals, shooting .504 from the field and scoring 19.7 points off of the Heat’s 14.7 turnovers.

Friday's matchup is the first of four meetings this season between the two teams (March 4 &amp; April 10 at MIA, March 6 at CLE).

Hardwood Classics Night presented by Elk &amp; Elk: The Cavs will host a series of Hardwood Classics (HWC) Nights presented by Elk &amp; Elk at Quicken Loans Arena throughout the 2016-17 season, turning the clock back to the years 1983-1987.

Each HWC Night will transport fans at The Q to the mid-80’s when the Cavaliers played at the Richfield Coliseum, World B. Free led a ‘comeback season’ and a new look team took shape in ‘86 with Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Ron Harper and Hot Rod Williams coming together in Cleveland. MORE DETAILS

It's right back to action on Saturday night as the Wine and Gold welcome the Charlotte Hornets into The Q. After a two-day rest, it’s a mid-week home-and-home back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies – with the Grizz rolling in on Tuesday and the Cavaliers traveling to the Grindhouse the following night. The Cavs return home for a date with the L.A. Lakers next Saturday night in Cleveland. GET TICKETS | VIEW FULL SCHEDULE

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#CavsHeat Game Preview - December 9, 2016

On Friday, December 9, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Cavs – Heat game (7:30 p.m.) and the Blue Jackets – Red Wings game (7:30 p.m.). Please refer to these programming details, available online HERE.

Cavs vs. Heat
Cavaliers Live Pregame Show begins at 7:00 p.m. | Tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

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#CavsHeat Programming Note - December 9, 2016

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12‑9‑16 vs. Heat