Coming into the night averaging 26.6 points per game, LeBron James seemed like a sure thing to collect at least 21 and leapfrog Reggie Miller on the NBA’s all-time scoring list Monday. He also had a chance at assist history, and as it turned out, those were the stats that came most easily to the King against Orlando.
With 13 assists, James tied his season high and passed Norm Nixon for 25th all-time in assists. More significantly, LeBron joined Oscar Robertson as the only two players in league history to rank in the top 25 in points and assists.
As for scoring history, James came up six points shy of Miller’s spot on this night, finishing with 15. His next chance to pass Reggie comes Wednesday night in Toronto.
Wrap-Up – Despite being down four of their top eight rotation players, it’d be a misnomer to call these Cavaliers “shorthanded.” And it’d be disrespectful to a young Magic squad that found themselves overmatched by Cleveland’s undermanned lineup.
Still without Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert – and missing Mo Williams and Timofey Mozgov on Monday night – the Cavaliers stayed perfect at home, pulling away from Orlando for the 117-103 victory, their third straight overall, eighth consecutive at The Q and 11th in a row against the Magic.
Kevin Love notched 27 of his game- and season-high 34 points before intermission – scoring 17 straight Cavalier points in the second quarter, going 7-for-8 from the floor, including a perfect 4-of-4 from deep in the period. On the night, Cleveland’s three-time All-Star finished 11-for-18, 6-of-9 from long-distance, adding eight boards, four assists and a blocked shot.
In eight games at Quicken Loans Arena this season, Love is averaging 21.5 points and 12.6 boards per contest.
J.R. Smith continued warming up and, after threatening to break out over the last four games, finally did so on Monday night, tallying a season-high 26 points – going 10-of-16 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
After taking a tough spill on a dunk attempt in the first quarter, LeBron James bounced back to notch 15 points and a season- and game-high 13 assists. Matthew Dellavedova – getting his third straight start in place of Mo Williams – also tallied 15 points, adding nine assists of his own.
On the night, the Cavaliers had 34 assists on 43 made baskets.
As was the case in Saturday night’s drubbing of the Hawks at The Q, the only starter who didn’t notch double-digit scoring was Tristan Thompson. And, again, it was Thompson who led both teams on the boards – snagging 14 rebounds, or the same amount as all of Orlando’s starters combined.
With more reserves pressed into starting duty, Cleveland’s bench got a little thinner – yet still managed good productivity in the two-touchdown win. Richard Jefferson went 3-of-5 from the floor for seven points, Anderson Varejao hit both of his shot attempts and grabbed eight rebounds and Jared Cunningham did a little bit of everything – finishing with four points, three boards, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
The Cavaliers shot 53 percent from the floor and canned a season-high 18 three-pointers – going 18-for-35 from long-range on the night.
Turning Point — The Wine and Gold needed every point of Kevin Love’s second-quarter barrage, staving off an Orlando squad that rallied back from a 12-point first-quarter deficit to take a 10-point advantage midway through the period – going on a 38-16 run after LeBron crashed hard on Victor Oladipo’s block attempt.
Weathering a red-hot Love, the Magic trailed by only four at intermission – and got to within a bucket early in the second stanza on Tobias Harris’ layup. But Dellavedova and J.R. Smith picked up where love left off and when Delly drilled his second trey of the period, the Cavaliers found themselves up a dozen.
From there, the Wine and Gold proceeded to pour it on – upping their edge to 21 in the third and coasting to the finish line in the fourth.
By the Numbers – 6,386 … career assists for LeBron James, surpassing Norm Nixon for 25th on the all-time list. James and the legendary Oscar Robertson are the only players in NBA history in the Top 25 in both points and assists. LeBron, who just passed Jerry West for 19th on the league’s all-time scoring list, is now just six points away from passing Reggie Miller at No. 18.
Quotable – Coach David Blatt, on learning that LeBron matched Oscar Robertson’s prolific feat …
”Honestly, that gives me chills to even hear that. That’s an amazing, amazing accomplishment. There’s a lot of obvious things like most points scored and most rebounds in career but when you’re talking about the highest number of points and assists, you’re speaking about such rarified air.”
Up Next – After wrapping up the three-game mini-homestand with Monday night’s victory over the Magic, the Wine and Gold get back on the road for a pair before returning to Cleveland for a three-games-in-four-nights stretch to conclude Thanksgiving week. On Wednesday night, Cleveland travels north of the border for their first matchup with the Raptors this season. After a day off on Thanksgiving, the Wine and Gold travel to Tobacco Road for a Friday night meeting with the Hornets. On Saturday, they conclude the road-home back-to-back when they welcome the Brooklyn Nets to The Q for the first of two trips this year.
