Wrap-Up — With just five regular season games remaining, the Wine and Gold continue to tighten their hold on the East’s top spot. And over the last two games, the Cavaliers are looking every bit like the top squad in the Conference.
After outlasting a Hawks team that had won nine of their previous 11 on Friday night in Atlanta, the Cavaliers returned to The Q and nearly went wire-to-wire against a Hornets team that had gone 14-3 since the start of March – holding off Charlotte for the 112-103 victory on Sunday afternoon in C-Town.
Once again the Cavaliers built up a lead of 20-plus points and once again they saw an opponent chip away over the second stanza. But as they did in Friday’s overtime win, Cleveland took Charlotte’s best shot and still had enough in the tank to finish them off the fourth.
LeBron James continues his pre-playoff tear – putting another massive effort on Sunday. The four-time MVP led both teams with 31 points and 12 assists, going 14-for-22 from the floor and adding eight boards and a pair of steals.
Sunday’s effort was LeBron’s fourth straight double-double and, over his last seven, is averaging 28.6 points, 8.9 boards, 9.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. With the victory, James improved to 24-1 all-time at home against Charlotte, including playoffs.
Kevin Love, who’s been almost as hot over the past over the past seven games and nearly recorded his 34th double-double of the season – finishing with 25 points, nine boards and four assists, going 10-of-18 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from long-distance.
Over that seven-game stretch, Love is averaging 19.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest. Sunday’s outing was the seventh time this season Love has drilled five or more triples.
The Cavaliers took a double-digit lead after one quarter and were in control throughout the first half of Sunday’s matinee. But Kemba Walker caught fire in the third quarter – netting 15 of his 29 points in the period. But J.R. Smith matched him almost shot-for-shot, drilling four of his six treys in the third, each seemingly as Charlotte got too close for comfort.
On the afternoon, Smith went 10-for-16 overall and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, tying his season-high point total of 27 – adding five boards, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Swish now sits just three-pointers away from eclipsing the Cavaliers’ franchise mark of 192, set by Wesley Person back in 1997-98.
Matthew Dellavedova got the spot start in place of Kyrie Irving, who missed Sunday’s affair while nursing a sore right ankle and finished with nine assists in the win.
Overall, the Wine and Gold dished out 34 assists on 45 made baskets – the 27th time this season they’ve handed out 25 or more helpers in a game. Cleveland is 26-1 in those contests.
The Cavaliers didn’t get big numbers off their bench on Sunday, but everyone who played contributed to the victory. Five of Tristan Thompson’s six boards were off the offensive glass, Mo Williams was 2-of-3 from deep, Channing Frye snagged seven rebounds and Iman Shumpert was 4-of-6 from the floor and helped cool off Kemba Walker in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland shot 54 percent from the floor and 55 percent from long-distance, holding the Hornets to 45 percent and 35 percent, respectively. The Hornets stayed in the game by going 26-of-27 from the stripe. But the Cavaliers held a 46-35 rebounding edge and forced 15 turnovers.
Turning Point — Similar to Friday night’s victory in Atlanta, the Cavaliers had to fight off a late charge from Charlotte on Sunday – stopping the bleeding with a three-pointer and holding on for the win.
On Sunday afternoon, after trailing by as many as 21 in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth, the Hornets battled back to get within four – 96-92 – with 4:25 to play.
But on Cleveland’s next possession, J.R. Smith drilled his sixth bomb of the afternoon to put the Cavaliers back up by a touchdown. After Jeremy Lin’s fadeaway jumper cut the lead back to five, a layup by LeBron James followed by Kevin Love’s final triple of the night gave the Wine and Gold a double-digit lead with 2:46 to play and enough breathing room to get the win.
By the Numbers – 15 … straight games that the Cavaliers have hit double-digit three-pointers, a franchise record and one shy of Golden State’s mark, set earlier this season. Sunday was the ninth game this year that Cleveland has canned 15 or more treys and the Cavaliers are 24-3 this season when shooting better than 40 percent from long-distance.
Quotable – Head Coach Tyronn Lue, on LeBron James’ focus with the postseason approaching …
”I think (LeBron)’s been leading by example knowing that the playoffs are coming up and we have to get ready for this stretch and take every game and every practice serious to get better going into the playoffs. I think he’s done a great job of setting the tone for us.”
Up Next – Following Sunday’s convincing win over Charlotte at The Q, the Wine and Gold are down to the final five regular season games of the season – starting with their final road trip of the campaign this week. On Tuesday night, they travel to take on the Bucks for the final time this season. On Wednesday, it’s a Pacers team that Cleveland would open the playoffs with if the postseason started to today and on Saturday, they take on the reeling Bulls at the United Center. The Cavs close out the 2015-16 season next week at The Q – welcoming the Hawks and Pistons to Cleveland.
