The Rockets have been such a thorn in the Cavaliers’ side over the years – especially at The Q – that even with the Wine and Gold shooting a franchise-record 87 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter, Houston still remained within striking distance in the closing moments.
But the Cavaliers were almost literally unstoppable down the stretch and eventually outlasted the Rockets for the 128-120 win on Tuesday night – Cleveland’s fourth straight win to start the season.
The victory also snapped a four-game win streak by Houston at The Q.
Kyrie Irving continued his white-hot start to the season, breaking beyond the 20-point plateau to lead the Cavaliers with 32 points – 21 of which he scored before intermission. On the night, the three-time All-Star went 10-of-19 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from long-range and a perfect 8-of-8 from the stripe.
Kevin Love’s been almost as hot to start the 2016-17 campaign – and he’s been solid on both ends through the first four games. On Tuesday night, Love went 9-for-16 from the floor for 24 points to go with five boards, a pair of steals and a blocked shot.
Par for the course, the third member (in no particular order) of the Big Three – LeBron James – led all rebounders with 13 boards to go with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting, adding a team-high eight assists in the win.
J.R. Smith, whose long-range heroics in the fourth quarter locked up the win for Cleveland on Saturday, was good from beyond the arc again on Tuesday, finishing with 15 points – going 5-for-11 from deep.
The Cavaliers also got excellent production from their bench in Tuesday’s victory.
Channing Frye returned to the squad after missing two games due to the passing of his mother – finishing with 11 points and four boards. Mike Dunleavy went 3-of-4 from the floor for his best game as a Cavalier, an 11-point, four-rebound, two-assist outing in only 18 minutes of action.
The Wine and Gold had easily their finest offensive performance of the young season – shooting 52 percent from the floor and an even 50 percent from three-point range, hitting 16 triples on the night.
The Rockets weren’t far behind. Houston shot 48 percent from the floor and canned 17 threes in the loss. James Harden paced both squads with 15 of Houston’s 30 assists – adding a season-high 41 points on 13-for-20 shooting.
Turning Point — The Cavaliers bench gave Cleveland a good lift on Tuesday night – none bigger than the back-to-back three-pointers by Iman Shumpert and Mike Dunleavy early in the fourth quarter.
Neither team could get separation early in the fourth period, with Trevor Ariza tying the game at 92-apiece on a three-pointer with 8:32 to play. But a Dunleavy dunk followed by his and Shump’s triples put the Cavs up seven, 102-95.
Kevin Love would go on to score seven straight points for the Cavaliers – giving them enough breathing room to hold on for the victory.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
