Cavs Win a Tight One
It’s Black Friday, and so the Cavaliers debuted their new black uniforms. The Cavaliers have had nice luck when it comes to dawning the black uniform, and tonight that continued. The Cavs beat the Charlotte Hornets 100-99, moving their current winning streak to seven games. However, this was a game the Cavs had to earn.
The entire game was back and forth as each team didn’t struggle to score, but struggled to play defense. LeBron James started the game out passing, and finished with eight assists in the first quarter alone. Also for the Cavs, Jae Crowder looked solid to start the game as his perimeter shot was falling early in the game. The inside-out game was solid but not overwhelming with the combo of Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard.
The Cavaliers received a jump start from their second unit, which was a welcoming sight, as players such as Korver, Green, and Wade took control of the tempo. However, the Cavs would find themselves down 57-54 at the half, but with solid play from numbers coming from LeBron James and Jae Crowder entering half time. The third quarter started off hot with LeBron being fouled by Dwight and hitting the three. He came right back and hit another three from near the logo. The rest of the Cavs seemed to follow as Korver and Smith joined in on the three point party. However, the Hornets with Kemba, and especially Dwight dominating inside, weren’t going to let the Cavaliers run away with the game. In the end, it was the Cavaliers defense that helped win the game as the Hornets shot 5-23 in the fourth quarter, and missed their last eight straight shots. This was their 12th straight loss in one possession games, which is one game shy of tying the NBA record since the three point line was implemented.
As previously mentioned, this was a dog fight until the very end. LeBron James ended the night doing what he does, and that is dominate the game as he ended the night with 27 points, 16 rebounds, and 13 assists. This was his second triple double of the season. While receiving help from an overall talent perspective, nobody else put up anything higher than 15 points. For the Hornets, Dwight finished with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist lead the way in scoring with 20. The Cleveland Cavaliers move to 12-7, as their next opponent is the exciting up and coming, Philadelphia 76ers. It should be interesting to see Ben Simmons against his mentor, LeBron James. As Fred McLeod would say, tonight was a “Wine and Gold Winner”.