Wrap-Up – After crushing Memphis by 22 points late last March, the Grizzlies might’ve had some revenge planned for the Cavs to celebrate their home opener. Instead, the Wine and Gold handed them a 30-point drubbing – taking a 16-point lead after one quarter and never looking back.
By the time the smoke cleared – along with most of the fans at the Fed Ex Forum – the Cavs had evened their record with a lopsided 106-76 victory on Wednesday night in Memphis.
Kevin Love notched his first double-double of the season by halftime and went on to lead the Wine and Gold with 17 points and 13 boards – going 7-for-14 from the floor to go with three assists.
Richard Jefferson followed up with 14 points off the bench, hitting all three three-pointers he attempted and going 5-of-6 from the floor overall. Jefferson was one of three reserves in double-figures, joining Matthew Dellavedova and Jared Cunningham, who added a dozen points apiece.
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View photos from Memphis.
LBJ feeds Moz for the slam.
Watch final game highlights.
Overall, Cleveland’s bench combined for 50 points, nearly doubling the Grizzlies’ reserves in the victory.
LeBron James was the only other Cavalier in double-figures, scoring his final few points of the night in the fourth quarter to keep his streak of 643 straight games with at least 10 points intact. James went 4-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the stripe, adding seven boards, five assists and a game-high three steals.
As a team, the Cavs shot 48 percent while holding the Grizzlies to just 35 percent – including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. Cleveland held Memphis to just 10 points in the first quarter and didn’t allow more than 23 points in any of the next three, converting 16 turnovers into 23 points. Running off their defensive pressure, the Wine and Gold tallied 26 fastbreak points to eight for Memphis.
Turning Point – For a pair of evenly-matched teams, the Cavaliers – as they did in Memphis last March – put the Grizzlies away early.
After Zach Randolph’s layup gave the Grizz a two-point edge two minutes into the game, it was all Cleveland the rest of the way – erupting on an 16-4 run and eventually running their lead to 28 by the end of the second quarter.
By the Numbers – 15-1 … Cavaliers record against Western Conference foes over their last 16 contests.
Quotable – LeBron James, on coming back to Cleveland after opening the campaign with a back-to-back on the road …
“No matter who you are, it feels so good to be back in front of your fans again. We love our fans. We’re excited because we’ve got the best fans in the world. We’re going to try to go out there and play like we’ve been playing the last two games.”
Up Next – After splitting a pair to start the 2015-16 campaign, the Cavaliers return to Quicken Loans Arena for the home opener against Miami on Friday night. After christening The Q, the Wine and Gold get right back on the road, taking on the Sixers in Philly on Monday night. After that, the Cavaliers return to Cleveland for their next four contests.
