After crushing Memphis by 22 points late last March, the Grizzlies might’ve had some revenge planned for the Cavs to celebrate their home opener. Instead, the Wine and Gold handed them a 30-point drubbing – taking a 16-point lead after one quarter and never looking back heading to a 106-76 win.
By the time the smoke cleared – along with most of the fans at the Fed Ex Forum – the Cavs had evened their record with a lopsided 106-76 victory on Wednesday night in Memphis.
Kevin Love notched his first double-double of the season by halftime and went on to lead the Wine and Gold with 17 points and 13 boards – going 7-for-14 from the floor to go with three assists.
Richard Jefferson followed up with 14 points off the bench, hitting all three three-pointers he attempted and going 5-of-6 from the floor overall. Jefferson was one of three reserves in double-figures, joining Matthew Dellavedova and Jared Cunningham, who added a dozen points apiece.
Overall, Cleveland’s bench combined for 50 points, nearly doubling the Grizzlies’ reserves in the victory.
LeBron James was the only other Cavalier in double-figures, scoring his final few points of the night in the fourth quarter to keep his streak of 643 straight games with at least 10 points intact. James went 4-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the stripe, adding seven boards, five assists and a game-high three steals.
As a team, the Cavs shot 48 percent while holding the Grizzlies to just 35 percent – including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. Cleveland held Memphis to just 10 points in the first quarter and didn’t allow more than 23 points in any of the next three, converting 16 turnovers into 23 points. Running off their defensive pressure, the Wine and Gold tallied 26 fastbreak points to eight for Memphis.
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