Recap: Cavs 119, Nets 109 (or, All Sewn Up)

LeBron James is no stranger to threading a needle… it’s just usually more of a metaphor for his otherworldly passing game instead of actual steel and twine penetrating his skin. But, an inadvertent head butt from old pal Tyler Zeller in the third quarter of this game forced LBJ to head to the locker room for some stitches to repair his lacerated face. While that might sound like a bad thing on the surface… it actually led to the worst possible outcome for the surprisingly resilient Nets.

For a contest between two of the League’s top five scoring teams (Cavs entered at #3, with the Nets just a fraction behind them at #4), the first quarter was uncharacteristically on the lower end of things. Both teams were defending decently, but both were also missing some open shots too. LeBron and Jae Crowder (who had another solid shooting night) helped build an early 18-10 lead with just under four minutes to go. Coming out of a Brooklyn timeout, LeBron had a “laying in the weeds” steal for a runout dunk… except it didn’t finish quite as planned…

Nick Wright “LeBron missed that dunk to show his teammates he can’t do it alone” pic.twitter.com/q9TVHDHUhF

— The NBA Soul (@TheNBASoul) November 23, 2017

In fact, the rarity of LeBron bricking a dunk like this clearly sent reverberations through the rest of the quarter and the first half. The Nets didn’t score initially on the other end, although it clearly got to LBJ as he seemingly rushed and missed three point shots on the next two possessions. Eventually, Smokin’ Joe Harris made the Cavs pay with his second three of the game, and the Nets closed the quarter on a 7-2 run. Cavs led 20-17 after one.

Dwayne Wade and the second unit entered to try and do what they do best in second quarters… namely maintain leads or erase deficits. They failed at the first, but succeeded at the second (not that there was a tremendous disparity for either side at any point). It was a decidedly strange 12 minutes of basketball for a variety of reasons… starting with Tyler Zeller knocking down the first three point shot of his career. Dwayne hit a rare one too. They were two of nine different players on both sides to hit a shot from deep in the period… but nobody hit more than one. While the Nets were content to fire away from the perimeter, Wade found cutters for easy layups… cutters like Cedi Osman and Channing Frye? (I told you it was a weird quarter). Ty Lue continued with his hockey line substitution patterns, replacing the second unit with the starters with five minutes left in the quarter. While he bought good rest for LeBron, the results were choppy at best. The teams stayed fairly even, with the Nets holding a 46-45 halftime advantage.

The scoring didn’t pick up immediately in the third quarter, though you could tell something was about to happen. And, that’s when Zeller’s head found the space between LeBron’s nose and upper lip. Though there was no foul called (or even stoppage of play), the Cavs were still able to score in the four on five situation with James holding his face at mid-court. I couldn’t find the video, but here’s LBJ himself explaining what happened…

LeBron James explains what happened with the stitches. #Cavs pic.twitter.com/dpo4Oir5l2

— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) November 23, 2017

Wade checked in as LeBron went to the locker room to get sewn up. It wasn’t clear if the return of the King was imminent, but the return of scoring was. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson took full advantage of James being out, scoring 10 of his team high 20 in the quarter. Joe Harris also continued his good showing against his former team with another of his four triples on the night. But, Kevin Love countered with 12 of his 18 points (most in the paint), and he got help from Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver. The Cavs kept things close enough with LBJ out, so it was easy for him to pull the string on the Nets’ lead once he returned with just under five minutes remaining. The wine & gold finished the quarter with a 15 point flourish to knot the game at 77.

If it wasn’t clear LeBron was on a mission after he returned from getting stitched up in the third… it was about to become painfully obvious to the Nets in the final quarter. But first, DWayne Wade once again turned back the clock with this nifty Eurostep on his way to his 18 points on the night…

We see you D.Wade with the Euro step 👀@DwyaneWade – 15 points | #AllForOne pic.twitter.com/jtWbqCvFBt

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) November 23, 2017

Brooklyn refused to go away, however, still hustling behind the efforts of Hollis-Jefferson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris. They pulled even again at 99 on a Harris drive off a fortunate rebound for the last of his near-career-high 18 points. Then, after a solitary Kevin Love free throw… it was all LeBron all the time. In a scene reminiscent of his epic Game 5 playoff explosion against the Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals… James scored the next 18 straight for the Cavs. He scored inside… he scored outside… he scored at will. In all, LeBron scored 23 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter… proving the lesser known adage that “witches get stitches.” Here’s all the carnage…

Watch @KingJames' early Thanksgiving feast with 23 points in the 4Q of #CavsNets! 🍽 https://t.co/nfGHSRm2VD

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 23, 2017

Wade hit a free throw to bookend the scoring, but the quarter belonged to the King who sewed everything up nicely. The Cavs notched 42 in the period to run away from the Nets (and consequently do their part to hit my predicted score… (damn you and your first NBA three, Tyler Zeller!!) 119-109.

In honor of Thanksgiving… instead of the “Evil” and “Genius” here’s the things I was thankful and not thankful for in this one…

Thanks!

Very grateful to witness what LeBron James is capable of on a nightly basis. Even when you think he’s having an off night (just eight points in a relatively passive first half where he uncharacteristically missed a wide open breakaway dunk)… he storms back with a vengeance to take over a game like few others in NBA history are capable. Give him 33 points in 33 minutes on 11-17 shooting (4-7 from deep), with six boards, five assists and two steals. Just delicious and awesome. Sure, maybe it took some stitches to get him fired up (or maybe it was his coach), but once he locked in, it was game over for the Nets. He’s just operating at a superior level right now…

LeBron's PER has gone over 30. He's had four seasons with 30+ PER in his career, the four seasons he won MVP.

— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) November 23, 2017

Thank you Kevin Love for quietly notching your 12th double double in just 18 games this season. Kev didn’t have a great shooting night (just 7-18, 0-4 from downtown), but he stepped up when it mattered to take the scoring load while LBJ was getting stitched up. It’s easy to forget that Love is out there sometimes, and he can still get abused from time to time defensively… but more often than not he shows up and gets the job done.

Much appreciation for how DWade has started to put his signature on the second unit. He was terrific again with 18 points (8-13 shooting) with five assists and four boards to lead the bench bunch, and seems to be truly embracing his role. His defense has also been solid recently, which should keep him out there when the game is on the line. Really enjoy the pride he’s taking in keeping the team afloat when LeBron sits.

Props to Jae Crowder for another good shooting night (4-5, including a perfect 3-3 from three). Fun fact, the Cavs are 8-0 on the season when Jae scores in double digits. And, his defense noticeably improves when his shots are going down. Keep up the good work!

Muchas gracias Jose Calderon! Though the offensive numbers weren’t as eye-popping as the previous game, Jose still brought stability to the PG spot and played some solid defense. Compared to the alternative, Calderon has been a breath of fresh air.

Gratitude for how dependable the bench has been all year, and this game was no different. Though they surrendered the lead for the first time in a while in the second quarter (again I blame Zeller), as a unit they competed well, played energetic defense and hit shots when it mattered. Frye had some great work under the hoop which was unexpected, and Korver hit a few key buckets. Cedi even got run for the second straight game and brought the requisite hustle to hopefully keep that trend going.

Cheers to Ty Lue who finally figured out a way to reduce LeBron’s minutes… get him into the locker room for stitches. In all seriousness though, Ty did sit LBJ for an extended period in the first half, and did apparently challenge his star at halftime for messing around too much…

Ty Lue challenged LeBron at halftime then the King answered with 23 points in the 4th quarter. #AllForOne pic.twitter.com/LTGbXFr3TW

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) November 23, 2017

No Thanks!

Prayers for JR Smith’s jumper… or more specifically his confidence in shooting his jumper. There’s no reason Swish should be taking only as many shots as Jose Calderon. It’s called “shooting guard” for a reason, JR… I can respect that he’s focusing on his defense, but I’d almost rather he go 1-10 than 1-4. Here’s hoping we get a more aggressive JR soon.

Not too many nits to pick with the bench, although I’d be okay with less chucking from Jeff Green. He wasn’t quite as active on the inside in this game as he’s been recently either.

Allowing the Nets to shoot so well from three was a bit of a backslide for the Cavs D, which had tightened up considerably on that front during the win streak. Also, while it’s almost a given that former Cavs are going to go off against this team, leaving Joe Harris that wide open to get his confidence going was a mistake.

I’m sure I’ll get lots of grief and disagreement for this statement, but I kind of hate watching seven footers take threes. Tyler Zeller hit one… and it looked like Jarret Allen did as well (his foot was on the line). I get that the League has gone three-point crazy… but it’s getting ridiculous.

Not to wish anyone ill… but here’s hoping the Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert injuries linger at least a little while longer. Hate to mess up this current rotation… although it might be nice to have a healthy TT back for some board assistance.

Leftovers

Lots more to be thankful for beyond the Cavs’ six game winning streak…

Namely both the Celtics and the Warriors (the two teams who believe they’ll be inevitably meeting in the Finals this year) lost in fine fashion. The C’s got their 16 game win streak unceremoniously snapped by Goran Dragic, Kyrie arch-rival, Dion Waiters and the Miami Heat… while the Dubs got embarrassed in OKC by a pumped up Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.

The Cavs get the holiday off before getting back to action against the Hornets on Black Friday. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving C:tB… and GO CAVS!