Wrap-Up — Wednesday’s game featured two of the giants in this generation – Kobe Bryant, in his career send-off at The Q and LeBron James, who’s days away from starting in his 12th straight All-Star Game. But it was an up-and-coming superstar who stole the show.
Kyrie Irving – who missed the season’s first 24 games – won’t be making the trip to the All-Star Game this Sunday in Toronto, but he’s looking every bit the part over the past two weeks. And he looked almost unstoppable in the final game before the Break.
Irving topped the 30-point plateau for the second straight game, lifting the Wine and Gold to their third straight win – holding off the Lakers, 120-111, on Wednesday night in Cleveland.
The Q was buzzing with anticipation as Kobe took the floor for the final time in his illustrious 20-year career. And the future Hall of Famer didn’t disappoint, overcoming a slow start to get a struggling Lakers squad back in the game in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 22 points.
In the Black Mamba’s North Coast farewell, he notched nine of his 17 points in the fourth period, going 5-for-16 from the floor, adding six boards, three assists and a steal. His four-point play with 5:35 left in regulation got the Lakers to within nine, 104-95. But the combination of Kyrie’s relentless attack and the combination of LeBron and J.R. Smith from long-range kept L.A. at bay.
On the night, Irving went 15-of-24 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go with seven assists and a pair of steals.
LeBron, who battled Kobe to start the game and down the stretch in the fourth, doubled-up with 29 points and 11 assists – one fewer than the Lakers’ starters combined – adding seven boards and a steal.
Tristan Thompson had his best game in over a week, tallying his 14th double-double of the season with 15 points – going 6-of-6 from the floor – and 13 boards.
One of the scarier moments of the night – outside of LeBron’s bullet pass that hit Lakers’ rookie D’Angelo Russell squarely in the jewels – came late in the second quarter when Kevin Love got tangled up with Kobe and left the floor holding the left shoulder that he injured in last year’s playoff series with Boston.
But postgame reports – and Love himself – confirmed that it was just a shoulder contusion (a “stinger” in Love’s words) and he isn’t expected to miss any time on the other side of the Break.
With Love sidelined for the game’s second half, Anderson Varejao started the third quarter and led Cleveland’s second unit with eight points and six boards.
The Cavaliers shot 51 percent from the floor in Wednesday’s win, holding L.A. to 44 percent. Cleveland handed out 26 assists, committed just seven turnovers and beat the Lakers up down low – outscoring them in the paint, 48-36, and on second-chance opportunities, 25-5.
Turning Point — Kobe’s aforementioned four-point play midway through the fourth quarter might’ve actually been the game’s turning point – if only because it woke the Wine and Gold up and reminded them they were in a battle.
Up against a team that had lost 16 of 19 games dating back to January 5, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early edge, leading by as many as 17 in the first quarter. They led by that same margin at intermission and improved their lead to 22 with three minutes to play in the third.
But the Lakers were determined not to let Cleveland sit its starters in the final period and Kobe’s triple-and-tax turned his ceremonial exit into a legitimate NBA dogfight. The Cavs eventually grew their edge to 14, but L.A. – which outscored the Wine and Gold, 37-27, in the fourth – got within nine at the final buzzer of a game that shouldn’t have been as close as it was.
By the Numbers – 5 … games this season – and second straight – that the Cavaliers have topped the 120-point mark.
Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, on his team’s habit of not putting opponents away …
“I don’t think we take it serious all the time. I think we get up and make fancy passes, or take bad shots and then you look up and the (lead) goes from 20 to 12. We have to be more professional with what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to build better habits. We’re trying to build something here so guys can be better.”
Up Next – With Wednesday night’s win over the Lakers, the Cavaliers close out the first half with a 38-14 mark, with 30 games to play on the other end of the All-Star Break. Over the weekend, the Cavs have just one representative in Toronto – LeBron James, who’ll start his 12th straight All-Star Game. When the Wine and Gold return to action, it’s a pair of tough contests right out of the game – taking on a Bulls team they’ve yet to beat this season on Thursday night at The Q followed by a trip to Oklahoma City for a rematch with one of the league’s hottest squads.
