Cavs trade Joe Harris to Orlando for future draft pick
January 12, 2016Commiserating with St. Louis & San Diego (and loving Spidercam): While We’re Waiting…
January 13, 2016Cleveland Cavaliers (27-9) 110
Dallas Mavericks (22-17) 107
[Box Score]
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the opening tip in Dallas against the Mavericks. On their first play of the night, Kyrie Irving had a wide open look from three. He missed the shot. That would serve as an omen for much of this game.
The Cavaliers got off to an abysmal start and with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the Cavaliers found themselves in a 23-7 deficit. At that point the Mavericks were shooting 83.3 percent from the field while the Cavaliers were just 3-of-13 for 23.1 percent. It looked like the Cavaliers were in for a long night.
As they’ve done so many times this season, the Cavaliers were again able to overcome a slow and sluggish start. By the end of the first quarter the Cavaliers had closed the gap to 25-22. The Cavaliers wouldn’t take their first lead until ten minutes were left in the fourth quarter. The game would eventually go to overtime, where the Cavaliers were able to ride a huge Kyrie Irving three-point shot and a great defensive play by Iman Shumpert to their eighth consecutive win.
https://vine.co/v/iMFi2rFrgV7
Say what you will about this Cavaliers team, but this group is proving time and time again that they are capable of pulling out wins in a variety of different styles under whatever circumstance they find themselves. This was a game in which the Cavaliers dug themselves an early 16-point deficit, crawled all the way back, gave a good portion of it back in the third quarter, forced overtime, then pulled off the win in the final minute by making huge plays on both ends of the court.
The Mavericks hadn’t lost a game all season when leading after three quarters. The Cavaliers have been an inconsistent road team. Yet in this game the Cavaliers were able to buck the trend and find a way to win. This was a nice one to get, too, as it ensures the Cavaliers can come out of this six game road trip no worse than 4-2. Two more stops in Texas, and finally the Cavaliers can go home.
Now lets look at the numbers…
- +10 – It’s been a tough season for Timofey Mozgov for sure. Between losing his starting spot and then the whispers of trade rumors, Mozgov has not been able to provide the same impact he did last season. In this game, though, Mozgov finally showed some shades of his old form. Mozgov subbed in this game with four minutes left in the first and the Cavaliers trailing 23-10. Mozgov would end the quarter with four rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot to go with a +10 rating as the Cavaliers got back into the game. Mozgov’s timely rebounds and forced turnovers on the other end preserved and created extra possessions for the Cavaliers, allowing them to mount their comeback. It was a good sign for the struggling center.
- 36.8% – Through three quarters, the Cavaliers were shooting 36.8 percent from the field. It’s remarkable that the Cavaliers were able to hang in this game when they just weren’t able to get any shots to fall. The Cavs tied the game at 52 early in the second half, but as the missed shots piled up the Cavs actually fell back down by 11. To their credit, the Cavaliers didn’t let the poor shooting affect their defense and they didn’t press too much on offense. The Cavs were able to increase their shooting to 42.5 percent in the fourth quarter, and then in overtime they finally got hot and shot 66.7 percent to secure the win.
- 34 to 24 – On a night in which the Cavs starters got off to such a slow start and the shots weren’t falling, the team needed their bench to step up and come through, and that’s exactly what they were able to do. Matthew Dellavedova led the bench unit with 12 points while Mozgov and Shumpert scored 10 points each, as the Cavs bench outscored the Mavs bench 34 to 24. Shumpert also provided two of the biggest defensive plays in the game. First, at the end of the fourth quarter, Shump found himself on Dirk Nowitzki and was able to use his quick hands to knock the ball free. Then in overtime, Shump found himself on Deron Williams with time winding down. Once again, Shumpert was able to knock the ball away from Williams with five seconds left to put the game away.
https://vine.co/v/iMjPLiXQj20
- 27/10/7 – Ho hum, just another stellar all-around game for LeBron James. For the first three quarters, with the team struggling, they were definitely leaning on James to keep them in the game. At every turn it felt like LeBron made a big play when they desperately needed it, whether it be a crazy step-over three, a nice dunk with a stylish pose, or a pass to Kyrie Irving for a deep three to put the final nail in the coffin. LeBron also had two steals and had several plays on defense when he went for a block and was able to force the Mavs player to alter their shot and miss.
And so the Cavaliers leave Dallas with a big win. They’ve won eight straight games now, but they’re going to have to win games at San Antonio and Houston to reach a streak of 10 games. It’s not going to be easy, but as Kyrie Irving continues to work his way into full game shape, the Cavaliers as a team continue to get better and better.
14 Comments
Great game this is why you watch during the regular season! KI keep shootin’ their eyes out kid.
Was in dallas and decided to treat myself to a live game, this was a good choice 🙂
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Loved this one.
Love the way Dallas seemed caught off guard by the way the Cavs, especially Love and Shump, ratcheted up the intensity at the end. And how Shump’s eyes and head followed the ball in Dirk’s hand like a crouching australian shepherd before he stripped it. And how relieved LeBron must be to know that Kyrie is seemingly programmed to unleash holy hell at game’s end. He gave up a wide wide open 8 footer for Kyrie’s dagger 3 in OT – that’s new.
This team comes at opponents in waves at the end. Having a team of closers bodes very well.
Who was the Mavs defender who flopped on Lebron there on that key OT Kyrie 3-pointer… had a white headband…
“He gave up a wide wide open 8 footer for Kyrie’s dagger 3 in OT”
Ya – and one from Ft Worth, at that
It was Deron Williams.
For most of the night, that game had LOSS written all over it. And that would have been understandable.
The Grit is back.
Timo is going to have his good games and bad games but I think the key is watch the lineups of opponents when he struggles. Teams are going smaller and it’s failing terribly when Cavs use TT or Love as the 5. Timo is also getting in 2nd unit time when opponents go small which is bad for him. When teams use a legit 5 he still has lots of value.
This was an amazing game. watched it after everyone else went to bed. I think i woke everyone up a few different times.
That was a foul on LeBron’s game-tying dunk, btw. The Dallas announcers (the play by play guy was excellent – the analyst was garbage) didn’t seem to think so. I didn’t get the Cleveland feed – anyone know what Austin Carr said?
Exactly what you’d expect Austin to say.
The slow starts are concerning, but I love seeing this team clamp down defensively. Shump is my favorite player on this squad. Total badass.
He was fouled…Parsons hit him with the body.
The starts and the lulls particularly on offense. The defense for the most part is there all game until the second half when you see it really kick in especially crunch time. KI reminded us though this was just his 10th game back. He’s still progressing. That’s kind of scary for opponents given how well he’s played. A year ago this was the time when the Cavs started on that unbelievable stretch leading into the playoffs. Tomorrow and Friday should give us a good measuring stick. But even if they lose both I’m not all that worried. On flip side if they can beat the Spurs in San Antonion and I’m Blatt LBJ and KI are sitting out Houston. Rockets like to play Cavs physical. At that point Cavs would be 5-0 on a 6 game road trip that took a week and half. No reason to even care about Houston. Borrow a page from Popovich.