In a battle between two of the league’s true heavyweights – one, a winner of eight straight, the other having rolled off nine – something had to give.
The Cavaliers came into San Antonio on the final days of their longest trip of the season, having topped their first four foes. But the Spurs are a different animal and they proved it on Thursday night, methodically erasing Cleveland’s 15-point lead and pulling away in the final period for the 99-95 win at the AT&T Center.
The Wine and Gold were in control through most of the first three quarters, but cooled off to start the fourth. The Spurs opened up a 10-point edge in the final period – the same margin they had last year in San Antonio before Kyrie Irving put on one of the greatest scoring displays in team history to steal an overtime win.
Irving got Cleveland as close as four – 97-93 – on a three-pointer with 17.9 to play – and it looked like the Cavs might pull off another miracle when Tony Parker missed two free throws on the other end. But LaMarcus Aldridge snagged the second miss and drained two tosses from the strip e to seal the deal.
All five Cavalier starters notched double-figures and two of them – Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love – doubled-up in Thursday’s thriller.
LeBron led Cleveland with 22 points, going 9-for-17 from the floor to go with seven boards and five assists.
Thompson – who claimed the mantle of the league’s current iron man with L.A.’s DeAndre Jordan missing a game after 360 straight – followed up with an 18-point, 14-rebound performance, going 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the stripe.
J.R. Smith continued his strong road trip with 17 points, going 7-for-13 from the floor. Smith knocked down four of their first five shots and led everyone with 10 points in the first quarter. But he went scoreless in the second and was limited in the third, picking up three personal fouls in the period.
Kyrie Irving didn’t have the same mojo against the Spurs in this year’s trip to San Antonio, but still finished with 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting. Cleveland’s three-time All-Star also had his hands full on the defensive end, with Anthony Parker leading all scorers with 24 points, 20 of which he poured in before intermission.
Kevin Love rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures, tallying his third straight double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.
San Antonio brought the highest-scoring second unit into Thursday’s contest and they did their part on Thursday – combining for 35 of the Spurs’ 99 points. The Cavaliers’ reserves – one game after dropping 34 points in Dallas – combined for just a dozen against the Spurs.
Both teams shot 46 percent from the floor, but San Antonio took twice as many free throws as the Wine and Gold (22-11) and forced Cleveland into 18 turnovers that the opportunistic Spurs converted into 19 points.
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