Another Western Conference powerhouse goes down as the Cleveland Cavaliers turned up the defense to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, 111-89, Wednesday night at the FedEx Forum.
Kyrie Irving led Cleveland (47-26) in scoring with 24 points, but it was the forgotten member of the Big 3 who showed up and showed out.
Before the game Grizzlies coach David Joerger referred to Kevin Love as one of the top three stretch-fours in the league with Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and Orlando’s Ryan Anderson.
Love must have gotten word of that comment because he went off inside. He slammed in a few dunks in half-court sets and finished well around the basket. The power forward scored 22 points, pulled down 10 boards, recorded four assists and blocked two shots in 32 minutes.
It was one of his better games this season.
LeBron James contributed 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes.
Once the Grizzlies were down 29 in the third quarter, the game was pretty much over as they lacked a home-run hitter. Singles weren’t getting it done against the Cavaliers’ sluggers.
Memphis’ offensive preference is a heavy dose of half-court motion offense until the right shot becomes available. When down a significant margin, time isn’t your friend. Cleveland displayed defensive grit throughout. It didn’t hurt that the Grizzlies missed several easy looks around the basket, finishing at 43 percent only because of some baskets in garbage time.
The Cavaliers’ David Blatt said the Grizzlies are very similar to the Indiana Pacers in that they prefer to slow the tempo and have years of continuity built up. Games such as these will only prepare the Cavaliers for grind-it-out playoff games and the players realize that.
“Each game we play is a test to see how we adapt to different teams,” Tristan Thompson said. “We’re doing good so far, but we still have some games left to improve.”
The Cavaliers notched their eighth win in their last nine contests and swept the season series with the Grizzlies for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Marc Gasol provided 18 points for Memphis (50-22).
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
