Grand Finale
After winning three of the first four on their five-game homestand, the Wine & Gold close it out with an old friend when LeBron James and the Lakers roll into town for a Monday night meeting at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Cavaliers (41-30) are coming off a thrilling weekend, earning back-to-back comeback wins over Denver and Detroit, respectively. Cleveland rallied back from a sluggish start to win for the 11th time in their last 14 home games on Saturday night – evening the season series with Detroit to earn its 41st victory of the season, equaling the win totals from the past two seasons combined.
The Lakers (30-41) have been in a total free fall since the All-Star Break – dropping 10 of 13 following the midseason classic. L.A. wraps up a four-game roadie on Monday night, falling to Washington on Saturday night after helping the Cavs out with a victory in Toronto the previous night.
In Saturday night’s nailbiter, the Wine & Gold improved to 6-0 against Central Division foes on their home floor, holding Detroit to just 21 points in the third period and going 8-for-14 from long-range after intermission.
Darius Garland notched his third double-double in his last four outings – leading Cleveland with 24 points and a game-high 12 assists.
Cleveland also got strong showings from its bench – namely Cedi Osman and Kevin Love.
Cedi, who didn’t see action in either of Cleveland’s two previous outings, finished with 16 points – 11 of those in the second stanza – and Love doubled-up with 14 points and 10 boards, going 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Lamar Stevens finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in his fourth straight start and Evan Mobley doubled-up in his second straight game – netting 12 points and a team-high 11 boards to go with six assists and a pair of swats.
Despite the outstanding recent play of LeBron James – who’s averaging 35.4ppg over his last eight – the Lakers, currently mired in the 10th-seed out West, have struggled mightily of late. On Saturday night in Washington, Los Angeles allowed 101 points over the final three quarters and seven Wizards notched double figures to hand the LakeShow their fourth loss in five tries.
The Cavs hit the road following tonight’s contest – traveling to Toronto for a huge Thursday night matchup with the Raptors. After that, it’s another three game homestand – welcoming Bulls, Magic and Mavericks to town before wrapping up the month of March next Thursday night in Atlanta.
History
These two squared off already this season, way back on October 29, with L.A. taking the 113-101 decision at then-named Staples Center. The Lakers got 45 points off their bench, shot 55 percent from deep after intermission and held the Cavs to just 16 points in the final period for the win.
Overall, the Lakers lead the all-time series, 67-51, although the Cavaliers have a 32-26 advantage on their home floor over the years.
The all-time single-game assist leader in the series for the Lakers is Magic Johnson – who handed out 22 assists to go with his 23 points in the reigning Champs’ 127-114 victory back in 1983 at the Coliseum.
The Cavaliers top all-time mark is held by Footsie Walker, who handed out 18 dimes in the Cavaliers’ epic 4OT win over the NBA Champion Lakers back in 1980, also at the Coliseum. In that legendary battle, Mike Mitchell, Dave Robisch and Randy Smith all had 30-plus for Cleveland. The Lakers got 42 points from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 30 from Magic Johnson and 12 more from power forward Jim Chones.
Connections
Cavs legend Jim Chones spent two seasons – 1979 through 1981 – with the Lakers, playing in all 82 games each year while averaging 10.7 points and 7.5 boards per. Chones won the 1980 title with the Lakers, who topped Dr. J’s Sixers in six games.
Kevin Love and Lakers guard Russell Westbrook were roommates on the road during their playing days at UCLA and went to be the 4th and 5th overall picks of the 2008 Draft.
And there’s a guy named LeBron James – who remains the Cavaliers all-time franchise leader in games played (849), points scored (23,119), rebounds (6,190), assists (6,228), steals (1,376), field goals made (8,369), three-pointers made (1,251), free throws made (5,130) and triple-doubles (64).