Wrap-Up – In Friday night’s home opener, the Cavaliers did what good teams do against a quality opponent – trading punches until it was time to deliver the knockout blow. And as good as LeBron James and Kevin Love were against Miami, it was the bench that eventually KO’d the Heat – pulling away for the 102-92 win in front of a frenzied sellout at The Q.
LeBron did much of the heavy-lifting against his old mates – netting a season-high 29 points on 13-for-19 shooting, adding five boards, four assists and a steal.
Love was just as good – doubling-up for the second-straight contest to finish with 24 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, adding five helpers and a blocked shot.
Through the season’s first three contests, James is averaging 22.0 points per contest on 54 percent shooting while Love is averaging 19.7 points and 11.6 boards per.
LeBron and Love got Cleveland off to a strong start on Friday, but the Heat refused to go quietly – cutting the Cavs’ nine-point edge to just three midway through the third. Coach David Blatt left the reserves who closed the third period on the floor to start the fourth, and Cleveland’s subs rewarded their coach – going on a 12-2 run to give the Cavs all the breathing room they’d need.
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Aside from the Cavaliers All-Star forwards, the rest of Cleveland’s starting lineup didn’t make quite the same impression, with the backcourt of Mo Williams and J.R. Smith struggling on 3-for-18 shooting. But the Cavaliers reserves – who dropped 50 combined points on the Grizzlies two nights earlier – rode to the rescue on Friday night at The Q.
Matthew Dellavedova led everyone with 10 assists, adding five points and five boards. Tristan Thompson continued his strong early-season play with 13 points, nine boards and one massive baseline block of a Chris Bosh offering with 7:28 remaining in the contest. Anderson Varejao added eight rebounds in 15 minutes of action off the bench.
Cleveland topped Miami on the boards, 49-38, and handled the Heat in the paint, 46-38. The Cavaliers held Miami to 43 percent shooting from the floor and are now holding opponents to just over 40 percent for the year.
Turning Point – Closing quarters is another mark of a strong squad, and the Wine and Gold imposed their will on Miami in the final minutes of the third in Friday’s win.
After Dwyane Wade’s layup cut Cleveland’s lead to three – 60-57 – with five minutes to play in the period, Kevin Love canned two straight treys and Tristan Thompson scored back-to-back buckets to send the Cavaliers into the fourth quarter up nine. The second unit bolstered that lead in the first half of the fourth – and the starters returned shortly thereafter to put the game on ice.
By the Numbers – 21-1 … Cavaliers record over their last 22 games at Quicken Loans Arena. They’ve also dropped Miami three straight at the corner of Huron and Ontario – topping the Heat by an average of 18.7 points.
Quotable – Kevin Love, on the effectiveness of Cleveland’s bench through the first three games …
“We have so much confidence in every player on this team. We have guys that might be sitting for lengthy periods of time that come in and affect the game in different ways – some might not even show up on the stat sheet.”
Up Next – Following Friday night’s home win, the Cavaliers get back out on the road following Sunday’s practice – heading to the City of Brotherly Love, where they’ll match up with Jahlil Okafor and the Sixers on Monday night. They return to The Q for the next four – beginning with the Knicks on Wednesday night. On Friday, the Sixers make their first trip to Cleveland for the season, followed by the Pacers on Sunday and the Utah Jazz two days later. Following the four-game homestand, the squad hits the road for the next three.
