Wrap-Up – With literally half their backcourt out of action for Thursday night’s nationally-televised affair, the Wine and Gold had an especially tall order against a Western Conference heavyweight that came to Cleveland riding a six-game win streak.
But as they have dating back to last May, the Cavaliers went into next-man-up mode once again, pulling past the Thunder in the third quarter and holding on for the 104-100 win – extending their win streak to four games and snapping Oklahoma City’s at six.
The Thunder had ample opportunities to put the shorthanded Cavs away – extending their lead to 11 midway through the third quarter. But Tristan Thompson took over the second half of the period and Cleveland used a 9-0 run to start the fourth to turn the affair around.
Thursday’s thriller also featured a scary moment with just over three minutes to play in the contest when LeBron James went hard after a loose ball and collided full-speed with a spectator sitting a couple seats down from the Cavaliers’ bench. That fan turned out to be pro golfer, Jason Day’s wife – Ellie – who was placed on a backboard and taken for medical attention.
When play resumed, the Thunder managed to cut Cleveland’s eight-point edge to just three with under a minute to play on Russell Westbrook’s three-pointer. But Kevin Durant and Westbrook missed potentially game-tying treys in the closing seconds and LeBron split a pair of free throws to seal the deal.
James barely missed his 40th career triple-double – tallying a game-high 33 points and 11 assists to go with nine boards and a pair of steals. The league’s leading fourth quarter scorer did his usual damage in money time – notching 11 of his 33 in the final period.
Tristan Thompson grabbed a game-high 15 boards – 11 off the offensive glass, one shy of a franchise record – adding 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting for his 94th double-double in a Cavaliers uniform.
Thompson was part of a Cavaliers’ bench that doubled OKC’s production – outscoring the Thunder reserves, 32-16. Richard Jefferson added 13 points, going 5-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from long range.
Matthew Dellavedova also went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, doubling up for the first time this season and the sixth time as a Cavalier, finishing with 11 points and 10 assists. J.R. Smith and Kevin Love also pitched in with 11 points apiece.
The victory was Cleveland’s eighth in their last 10 meetings with the Thunder at The Q and improved their mark to 18-2 in their last 20 games against the Western Conference. The Cavs improved to 31-2 over their last 33 contests in Cleveland, including an 11-1 mark so far this season.
Turning Point — After cutting OKC’s 11-point lead to just four at the end of the third, the Wine and Gold took control of the contest to start the fourth, netting seven points in their first two possessions of the period – with Kevin Love completing a four-point play after being fouled on a three-point make and LeBron James converting an and-1 after being fouled under the rim by D.J. Augustin.
Richard Jefferson scored on an odd-looking alley-oop and canned this third three of the game to improve Cleveland’s lead to six. Tristan Thompson scored on what’s become a trademark teardrop alley-oop and Jared Cunningham drilled a bomb from just in front of the Cavs bench to give the Cavaliers enough breathing room to hold off the high-octane Thunder the rest of the way.
By the Numbers – 10 … three-pointers per game that the Cavaliers are averaging this season. Cleveland has canned 10 or more triples on 12 occasions this season and – dating back to last year – are 23-0 when shooting 40 percent or better from beyond the arc.
Quotable – Tristan Thompson, explaining the chemistry between himself and Matthew Delllavedova …
“Delly and I never practice alley-oops, so I guess it is just a bond that we have. I first have to set a good screen and then he comes off throwing it up there and I have to go get it. If I don’t get it, that makes him look bad, so we have to help each other out.”
Up Next – The Cavaliers continue their brief three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when they welcome the woeful Sixers – who haven’t won a game since December 1 and didn’t win a single one before that – to The Q for the second time this season. On Wednesday night, Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks also make their second stop on the North Coast this year. After that, it’s a tough four-games-in-five-nights West Coast trip, beginning with a Finals rematch with the Warriors on Christmas Day in Oakland. They travel to Portland to wrap up the season series with the Blazers the following night before closing out the trip with stops in Phoenix and Denver.
