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Wrap-Up -- There’s no amount of sugar-coating that can mask what was a difficult Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Head Coach Tyronn Lue was out sick, missing his first game as Cleveland’s head coach. A pair of former Cavaliers – Dion Waiters and Wayne Ellington – combined for 47 points. And the sub-.500 Heat dropped the Wine and Gold for the second time in three days – pulling away for the 106-98 win.
But the event that really sucked the life out of the arena on Monday night took place just 22 seconds into the second quarter when the newest Cavalier – Andrew Bogut, who literally joined the squad earlier in the day – closed out on Miami’s Okaro White on a three-point attempt.
Okaro pulled down the pump-fake and tried driving around Bogut, but his knee caught Bogut squarely on his left shin, sending the veteran center immediately to the floor clutching his leg. With the sellout crowd in relative shock, Bogut was helped up and helped off the floor and immediately into the Cavaliers locker room.
After x-rays were taken, it was determined that Bogut suffered a fractured left tibia. He was taken to Cleveland Clinic for further imaging and evaluation and no timetable has yet been set for his potential return.
The Cavaliers – coached by assistant coach Larry Drew filling in for Tyronn Lue – weren’t exactly razor-sharp to start the game and never quite recovered from Bogut’s injury.
Miami would eventually extend its lead to 20 early in the fourth quarter before the Cavaliers mounted a comeback that got them to within five points, 103-98, with just over a minute to play before Waiters banked home a desperation three-pointer with 12.2 to play that sealed the Heat’s two-game sweep.
Both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving topped the 30-point plateau for the Cavaliers. Unfortunately, they were the only two players to tally double-figures.
Kyrie followed up his 43-point performance on Friday night against Atlanta with a 32-point effort on Monday – going 11-for-25 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from long-range, to go with seven boards, three assists and a block.
LeBron hit the 30-point mark for the 15th time this season – finishing with 30 points on 11-for-22 shooting, adding a game- and season-high 17 boards to go with six assists, a steal and blocked shot.
Tristan Thompson chipped in with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, adding 13 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Kyrie drops 32 and LBJ tallies another double-double but it's not enough as the Cavs fall to the Heat.
The Heat got 50 combined points from their starting backcourt of Goran Dragic and Waiters, who notched 24 of his 29 points before intermission. Ellington pitched in with 18 points, going 5-for-10 from long-range on the night.
The Heat – who hover near the middle of the NBA pack shooting the three-ball – finished with 16 triples on Monday night and combined for 34 in the two-game home-and-home set.
Turning Point -- The Cavaliers took an early lead midway through a sloppy first quarter, but ended that period trailing by seven, 29-22. And after Bogut’s injury early in the second quarter, the Wine and Gold went flat for the remainder of the first half – trailing by as many as 15 points and heading into the locker room down 10 – 62-52.
Cleveland got its act together to start the third and sliced Miami’s lead to just three – 69-66 – midway through the period.
But the Heat would proceed to close the quarter on a 20-5 run and the Wine and Gold would find themselves in catch-up mode for the remainder of the night.
By the Numbers – 12 … consecutive games that Kyrie Irving has tallied at least 20 points – tying a career-high and averaging 28.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals over that stretch. In the game before Kyrie started his recent streak, he finished with 14 points and a career-best 14 assists.
Quotable – LeBron James, on the news about Andrew Bogut …
”It’s very deflating. It’s a tough moment. We were all excited about the acquisition and bringing him here and him getting some games under his belt before the playoffs. Hopefully, we can hope for the best when he gets the MRI or whatever the case may be. It’s a tough one, obviously for him first of all, and then for our ballclub.”
Up Next -- After a quick stopover at home against the Heat, the Cavaliers get right back on the road again – where they’ll play seven of their next nine contests. The first junket is a three-gamer this week – beginning with a Thursday night matchup with the Pistons in Detroit followed by a weekend back-to-back, facing the Magic in Orlando on Saturday and taking on James Harden and the Rockets the following night in Houston. The Cavs return home for a pair the following week – welcoming Detroit and Utah to The Q – before heading out west for a four-gamer.