Cavaliers turn back the clock and smack the Heat 114-84
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Professional LeBron James welcomed his former team to Cleveland Friday night with another James-like performance, totaling 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals in Cleveland’s 114-84 destruction of the Miami Heat.
James was a member of the Heat for four seasons from 2010-14, winning two championships on a star-studded roster that consisted of likely future Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, not to mention a slew of other valuable role players. Since James left South Beach to return to Northeast Ohio in 2014, the Heat have become a shell of the ultra talented roster they once were when James patrolled the sands of South Florida.
Miami’s fall from grace was on full display Friday as the Cavs (16-5) toyed with the Heat (7-16) throughout the night. Cleveland held a slim 31-27 lead when the first quarter came to a close, but upped their advantage to an 11-point edge by the time halftime arrived, 57-46.
It shouldn’t have been surprising that the Cavs didn’t lead by more at the break over an inferior team that only had eight available players, as Cleveland’s cast of stars can become lackadaisical at times when facing lesser competition. Yet, there was never a doubt that the Cavs would turn up the heat (pun intended) in the second half.
Kyrie Irving opened the second half with a layup that gave Cleveland a 59-46 lead. When the Cavs point guard drained a three-pointer less than a minute later followed by a Kevin Love tip-in, Cleveland led 64-48 and began to pull away. While Love and Irving were in the midst of great performances themselves, James continued to go to work, draining a 25-foot three-pointer with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter that gave Cleveland its largest lead to that point, 81-59. Cleveland led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter, and the Heat never recovered from the Cavs’ 30-point third quarter.
“They got some early shots, early layups by moving, cutting and kind of put our defense at a loss, but we just stayed with it,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said.
Cleveland moved to 10-2 at The Q this season, where they entered the night averaging 115.3 points per game. Scoring has been a premium for the Cavs this season as the team’s Big Three is playing its best basketball since joining forces. Against Miami, Irving finished with 23 points, which extended his consecutive games streak of scoring at least 20 points to a career-high 12 games, which is also the longest active streak in the NBA.
Love continues to have his best season since he arrived in Cleveland the same summer James did, totaling 28 points and 15 rebounds in 31 minutes against the Heat. With his 26th point Friday, James passed Elvin Hayes (27,313) for 9th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
“(He) basically takes what the defense gives him,” Lue said of James. “When we’re playing with pace and getting stops, his shot attempts are going to go up because he’s getting downhill, getting to the basket more frequent. As far as moving up to 9th on the scoring list, just a tribute to his hard work, staying healthy, his hard work and dedication to the game.
“When you’re great, you’re gonna move up a lot of lists. So, I’m happy for him, happy for the team to get the win tonight.”
Cleveland has won 36 straight home games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field after a 55 percent effort Friday. The Cavs were hot from the field despite being without J.R. Smith, who is recovering from a left knee hyperextension, and Channing Frye, who was excused from Friday’s and Saturday’s contests for a personal matter. Iman Shumpert picked up some of their scoring load with 10 points and four rebounds against the Heat.
Since James returned to Cleveland, the Cavs have been title contenders each season. That is the kind of effect a player of James’ caliber can have on a franchise. His departure from an organization can also cripple a franchise, evidenced by the results his former teams have produced without him.
James and company will complete the second of back-to-back contests Saturday night when they host the Charlotte Hornets.
POSTED 12/08/2016 23:29
Lake County Sentinel
