Wrap-Up — After toying with the idea through most of the year, the Cavaliers finally went small – and finished with big results, avenging last Sunday’s dismal loss in D.C. by blowing the Wizards out, 108-83, on Friday night at The Q.
As the Cavs coaching staff begins sporadically resting frontline players down the season’s homestretch, it was Kevin Love’s turn to get the night off against the Wizards. But instead of the usual move – sliding Tristan Thompson to the 4 and leaving Timofey Mozgov at center – Coach Tyronn Lue started Iman Shumpert at small forward, moving LeBron James to the 4.
The move paid off early and often, with the Cavaliers taking a 17-point edge into intermission and coasting to the finish line in the second stanza.
The Wine and Gold were playing on three days’ rest – and it showed. Every player who dressed got into the boxscore on Friday night, with six Cavaliers finishing with double-figures. Cleveland turned the ball over only nine times and handed out 24 assists to Washington’s 14.
LeBron nearly notched his second triple-double of the season on Friday night – finishing with 19 points, a game- and season-high 13 boards, seven assists and three steals. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the 20-point lead Cleveland took in the fourth quarter, allowing the four-time MVP to take in the final period from the bench.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 21 points, going 8-for-18 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from long-range – adding a game-high eight assists, five boards and a steal.
Timofey Mozgov, in his second straight start, was impressive on the offensive end – finishing with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting, adding five boards in the victory.
J.R. Smith was the fourth Cavalier starter to notch double-figures, chipping in with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting. Matthew Dellavedova finished with 12 points off the bench while Tristan Thompson notched 10 points and seven boards with the second unit.
View game stats.
View photos from The Q.
LBJ with the steal and slam.
On the night, the Cavaliers held Washington – which came in having won seven of its last nine – to 40 percent shooting, including just 15 percent from beyond the arc. The Wine and Gold, meanwhile, shot 44 percent from deep – canning 12 triples in the win and handled the Wizards down low as well, outscoring them in the paint, 46-34.
Turning Point — The Cavaliers didn’t go on a quick outburst to pull away from Washington on Friday night – it was more like a second quarter slow-boil.
Leading by just four after one period, the Cavaliers continued to distance themselves from the Wizards in the second – and after staking themselves to a nine-point lead, hit another gear from long-distance, with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Matthew Dellavedova each canning treys in the final three minutes of the quarter to extend Cleveland’s lead to 18.
After intermission, the Wizards would get no closer than 13.
By the Numbers – 24, 9 … assists and turnovers for the Cavaliers in Friday night’s victory. The Wine and Gold improved to 26-1 this season when handing out 23 or more assists.
Quotable – LeBron James, on the Cavaliers playing small-ball on Friday …
“Our offense is a lot faster and a little more precise with me at the four. I’m going to be setting a lot more transition and half-court pick-and-rolls. I know that I can either get my guy open or if they put two on the ball, then maybe be a quarterback out of that situation. It definitely worked really well for us tonight.”
Up Next – After avenging their ugly loss to the Wizards from five days earlier on Friday night at The Q, the Wine and Gold welcome the Celtics – (speaking of revenge) – to Cleveland for the final time this season to round out the back-to-back on Saturday. After an off day Sunday, the Cavs close out the four-game homestand on Monday night when they wrap up the season series against Memphis. Next week, Cleveland embarks on its final West Coast trip of the season – facing off against the Kings, Lakers, Clippers and Jazz.
