If you’re just reading this now, you might just be catching your breath from Monday night’s instant classic in the nation’s capital.
Featuring more twists and turns, spills and thrills than a regular season game rightfully should, the Cavaliers and Wizards played one of the most electrifying games in recent memory – a 140-135 overtime thriller that gave Cleveland its third straight win and snapped a 17-game home winning streak by the Wizards.
The Big Three were almost unstoppable at a pulsating Verizon Center – with Kevin Love and LeBron James providing four quarters worth of fireworks and Kyrie Irving cleaning up in the extra-session, scoring nine of Cleveland’s final 13 points to seal the win in a matchup that felt more like a Game 7 than a Monday night meeting in early February.
Kevin Love scored 27 points after intermission and led the Wine and Gold with 39 overall, but it was his full-court heave to LeBron in the final seconds of regulation that will be the talk of the post-Super Bowl sports world on Tuesday.
After John Wall canned a pair of free throws to give Washington a three-point lead – 120-117 – with 3.4 to play, Love fired a long chest-pass to James just inside the opposite three-point line. LeBron dribbled out beyond the arc and, with Bradley Beal in his face, banked home a three-pointer to tie the game with 0.3 to play.
LeBron would foul out early in overtime – his first disqualification since January 2011 – but that just paved the way for Kyrie, who struggled mightily in the previous four quarters, to take over.
Irving would proceed to score 11 of Cleveland’s 20 points in the period – drilling a 13-footer to tie the game at 133-apiece and a three-pointer on the Cavaliers’ next possession to give the Wine and Gold a lead they would not relinquish.
Monday night’s nail-biter had a Playoff feel right from the opening tip. The Wizards came into the contest as the hottest squad in basketball – having won seven straight and 14 of their previous 16 to ascend to the Conference’s third seed. But the Wine and Gold – still the top squad in the East – were looking to make a statement of their own.
In a game loaded with some of the game’s elite performers, the Wine and Gold’s All-Star troika got the better of things on Monday – especially in the game’s second stanza.
Kevin Love, who continued to answer unfounded trade rumors with stellar play – notched 15 of his team-high 39 points in the third quarter. The four-time All-Star went 11-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from long-range and 11-of-11 from the line – adding 12 boards and three assists.
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