Late comeback effort from Thunder was not good enough to
take the game into Over Time. It was all over when LeBron completed his free throw.
OKC 100 - CLE 104
Cavaliers still maintaining tthe top seed in Eastern Conference with 17-7.
It’s a total team effort from Cavaliers! Dellavedova and
Tristan fireworks are back and it’s wonderful to watch them play. Tristan did a
wonderful job of rebounds. Imagine healthy Kyrie, Mo and Iman coming back into
the starting lineup. Love 4 point was superb, a three pointer and a free throw!
I still think Jefferson scored a three pointer but it was
recorded as a 2 pointer. In replay, we can see his both feet are behind the 3-point
arc. J R Smith was keep showing 3 from sidelines but looks like no one noticed.
Looks like the lady who got badly injured in the fourth quarter,
surely will take some time to recover. She totally fell backwards and I am sure
her head hit the ground.

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LeBron was upset and concerned too. It took some time for
him to get back to his rhythm too.
Cavaliers – Net Player
Score
L. James
|
108.54
|
Outstanding
|
T. Thompson
|
74.61
|
Very Good
|
M. Dellavedova
|
56.77
|
Fair
|
K. Love
|
55.41
|
Fair
|
R. Jefferson
|
41.03
|
|
J. Smith
|
40.35
|
|
T. Mozgov
|
19.18
|
|
J. Cunningham
|
7.45
|
|
Thunder – Net Player
Score
As we can see, Thunder played a great team game too. Durant scored 25, Westbrook
scored 27 and Ibaka scored 23 points. Interestingly no other player reached
double figures.
R. Westbrook
|
101.55
|
Outstanding
|
S. Ibaka
|
83.73
|
Excellent
|
K. Durant
|
76.48
|
Very Good
|
A. Roberson
|
66.77
|
Good
|
E. Kanter
|
59.62
|
Fair
|
D.J. Augustin
|
41.43
|
|
N. Collison
|
25.37
|
|
K. Singler
|
23.90
|
|
D. Waiters
|
14.29
|
|
S. Adams
|
7.33
|
|
Orlando Magic 6-7 coming into this game. Cavaliers are 10-3
and unbeaten at home this season.
Injuries really played a role in Cav’s roster this year and
it is clearly reflected in the starting lineup in this game with LeBron, Kevin, J R Smith, Dellavedova and Tristan.
- Mozgov - Out with
right shoulder strain
- Williams - Out with right ankle inflammation
LeBron and Kevin can only take so much of load even though
they both are experienced and well-seasoned players. Bench has to play both
roles now.
First part of the 2nd quarter was interesting to watch but Magic were never a threat entire game. Bright side for Magic is Oladipo doing
couple of shots with high energy.
Cavs overpowered Magic in 3rd quarter and built a healthy lead of 12-points going into 4th quarter.
Cavs leading with 2 at the of1st, 2 at 2nd
quarter and 12 at end of 3rd quarter. There was never a chance for
Magic. Lead changed few times during first 2 quarters and that’s about it.
Love is now gone beyond his season high of 25, set in the
last game. Love scored 34, Smith scored 26 points. Love and Smith are absolutely
wonderful to watch. Good to see J R Smith stepping up.
Great win at Home! Go Cavs!
Net Player Score - This is a total team win with Love and Smith are leading the pack and Delly scoring 15 points!
K. Love
|
129.60
|
Outstanding
|
M. Dellavedova
|
100.63
|
Outstanding
|
S. Kaun
|
95.24
|
Outstanding
|
A. Varejao
|
94.99
|
Outstanding
|
L. James
|
91.52
|
Outstanding
|
J. Smith
|
74.14
|
Very Good
|
T. Thompson
|
55.37
|
Fair
|
R. Jefferson
|
36.68
|
|
J. Cunningham
|
14.66
|
|
Next Game:
At Toronto on Wednesday 25, 2015.
Cavaliers are now self-corrected and came together as a
team. After the game, Blatt very clearly highlighted the fact that “We were aggressive and we were physical". It's true!
Mo and Shumpert did not play in this game. Mozgov played
only for about 11 minutes. Dellavedova ended up with 13 Assists. Varejao also
played around 11 minutes scoring 9 points.
As far as the NPS is concerned, James and Love are on the
top of list with rest playing their roles effectively. There were some miscommunications and too
many fast passes resulted in 3 second rule violation for Cavaliers. Bucks
played very well too. They were in a position to take the lead but could not
score in few drives.
J R Smith scored 18 points. He has to play for himself and
in my opinion for Mo as well. His 3 pointers are back.
I think the result of this games sums up what James after
the game. “This is how we need to play”
Check out the NPS (Net Player Scores) and it reflects what exactly
James said.
L. James
|
100.05
|
Outstanding
|
K. Love
|
93.07
|
Outstanding
|
A. Varejao
|
89.96
|
Excellent
|
J. Jones
|
89.82
|
Excellent
|
T. Thompson
|
74.12
|
Very Good
|
J. Cunningham
|
57.86
|
Fair
|
J. Smith
|
45.67
|
|
M. Dellavedova
|
38.96
|
|
R. Jefferson
|
6.13
|
|
Cavaliers are now 9-3, still leading in both Eastern
Conference and Central Division. Next game is on Saturday against Atlanta Hawks
at Quicken Loans Arena (Home Game for Cavaliers).
This is the first game between Cavaliers and Hawks. Last
year (2014-2015 season) Cavaliers beat Hawks to move to Eastern Conference
Finals.
There was lot talk about Dellavedova’s play during that
series with media and analysts jumping on Dellavedova. Eventually this lead to “Protect
our Delly” campaign.