Cavs beat Wizards after White House visit
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There isn’t much to nitpick on a team that entered the night tied for the best mark in the Eastern Conference, but one of coach Tyronn Lue’s legitimate concerns has been the Cavaliers’ dismal play in fourth quarters.
It was a point of emphasis again Friday in the Cavs’ 105-94 victory over the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. The Cavs limited the Wizards to 19 points in the fourth quarter on 37 percent shooting after opponents had scorched them during the early part of the season.
LeBron James finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while becoming the youngest player in history to score 27,000 points. Kevin Love had 14 points and 16 rebounds (10 rebounds in the third quarter) and Kyrie Irving scored 29 points on another big night for the Big Three.
James eclipsed 27,000 points at 31 years, 317 days. He has routinely broken all of Kobe Bryant’s scoring milestones and did so again Friday. Bryant reached 27,000 in 32 years, 160 days.
Irving, meanwhile, moved into ninth place on the Cavs’ all-time scoring list, moving past Campy Russell (6,588 points).
John Wall scored 28 points, but 23 of them came in the first half. The Wizards were playing without Bradley Beal, who missed the game with a sore right hamstring.
The Orlando Magic enjoyed a 37-point fourth quarter earlier this season, the Houston Rockets scored 36 in the fourth and the Boston Celtics hammered the Cavs for 39 in the fourth. All of those games were still Cavs victories.
The Atlanta Hawks scored 26 points and shot 52 percent in the fourth quarter of the Cavs’ lone defeat, prompting Lue to consider changes to his fourth-quarter lineup.
Lue stuck with primarily his same fourth-quarter unit Friday, headlined by James but included reserves like Mike Dunleavy, Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson.
The Wizards shot 63 percent in the first quarter, thanks in part to six Cavs turnovers that led to transition opportunities. As the Cavs secured the ball better and tightened down defensively, the Wizards’ shooting percentage consistently dipped throughout the night.
The win comes one day after the team celebrated its championship last season at the White House, officially marking the final celebration for last season and pivoting the sole focus of this team into this season.
“It’s something that, me personally, I will never forget,” Lue said. “And hopefully for the guys, they feel the same way. I mean I know everyone enjoyed themselves [Thursda], had a real great time. A lot of guys were humbled by the experience.”
(Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)
Raptors 113, Hornets 111
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points and Toronto pulled out a victory over Charlotte.
The Raptors led by as many as 16 in the first half but had to rally from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.
They ultimately won with a 12-0 run that turned a 102-97 deficit into a 109-102 lead with 28.3 seconds left, with DeRozan scoring eight of the 10.
76ers 109, Pacers 105 (OT)
Rookie center Joel Embiid scored a season-high 25 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 55.1 seconds left in overtime, as Philadelphia beat Indiana for its first victory of the season.
Ersan Ilyasova added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia. Nik Stauskas also scored 14 points for the Sixers.
Celtics 115, NY Knicks 87
Isaiah Thomas was one shy of his season high with 29 points as Boston torched the Knicks.
Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points and Avery Bradley added 15 for Boston.
Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points to lead New York, while Carmelo Anthony finished with 12 points, all in the first quarter. He was ejected after picking up a pair of technical fouls late in the first half.
Clippers 110, Thunder 108
Blake Griffin scored 25 points to lead the Clippers to a victory over Oklahoma City.
Griffin made 10 of 20 shots from the field and grabbed six rebounds. Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 19 points and Chris Paul contributed 17 points and 10 assists.
Russell Westbrook paced the Thunder with 29 points, nine assists and 14 rebounds.
Spurs 96, Pistons 86
Pau Gasol scored a season-high 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting as San Antonio shrugged off a late charge and defeated Detroit.
A free throw and back-to-back driving buckets by the Pistons’ Ish Smith cut San Antonio’s lead to 89-84 with 2:59 to play.
After Smith missed on a third drive to the basket a minute later, Kawhi Leonard poured in an arcing three-pointer to provide the Spurs a comfortable cushion for the end of the game.
Leonard added 17 points while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Spurs.
(Reuters)