Wednesday nights matchup with Dallas might not have been the best game of the season. But it might be the strangest.
With LeBron James getting the night off, the Cavaliers proceeded to build (and nearly) blow a 20-point lead in the second quarter and again with an 18-point edge in the fourth. Even when it appeared they had the game completely sewn up – taking a four-point lead on Kyrie Irving’s free throws with 2.3 to play – Dalllas’ Deron Williams banked home a three-pointer at the final buzzer.
As it turned out, Williams’ triple only mattered in the final boxscore as the Wine and Gold held on for the 99-98 victory – their 12th win in the last 14 games against a Western Conference foe.
With the postseason now just 15 games away and Coach Tyronn Lue giving certain starters some rest, it was LeBron’s turn on Wednesday. And with the four-time MVP on the bench, the other two-thirds of Cleveland’s big three took charge.
Kyrie Irving went off for a game-high 33 points – his sixth 30-point game of the season – going 13-for-28 from the floor and adding five boards and the biggest steal of the night, stripping Dirk Nowitzki on Dallas’ second-last possession with 2.9 to play.
Kevin Love had his best game in weeks — notching his team-leading 28th double-double of the season with 23 points, a game-high 18 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. The three-time All-Star – who reached that double-double by intermission, the fifth time he’s done that this season – went 8-of-19 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe.
The Cavaliers led by as many as seven in the first quarter extended their advantage to 20 points – 50-30 – midway through the second. But Dallas put together a 19-2 run that got them within striking distance at the break.
Cleveland maintained a double-digit edge through the third period and again pushed the lead to 18 – 89-71 – with 9:31 to go. But the Mavericks this time went on a 26-6 to cut the lead to just a deuce with 2:59 to play.
Kyrie put the Cavs back up four on a layup with 1:36 to play, but Dirk Nowitzki’s 14-footer got the Mavericks back to within two. An Irving turnover gave Dallas the ball back with 16.6 to play, and Kyrie found himself isolated on Dallas’ future Hall of Famer with the clock winding down. He picked Dirk and was fouled – canning both free throws to give Cleveland (just) enough breathing room for the win.
Channing Frye posted another strong effort off the bench, finishing with 14 points in 18 minutes of action – going 3-of-5 from long-distance, 5-of-7 overall, to go with three boards and a steal.
J.R. Smith was the only other Cavalier to tally double-figures, finishing with 13 points on 6-for-17 shooting. Swish was just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in Wednesday’s win, but for the 38th time this season, the Wine and Gold knocked down double-digit triples.
The Cavaliers dominated Dallas on the boards, 48-32, and in second-chance opportunities – outscoring the Mavs, 22-4. The Wine and Gold also allowed just four fastbreak points on the night – one game after holding Utah scoreless on the break.
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