Wrap-Up – There was a time when the Lakers rolling into town represented a measuring stick for how the Wine and Gold stood up against a perennial heavyweight. But on Sunday, they were just another Western Conference foe that got in the Cavaliers’ way as they continue to barrel towards the Break.
Kevin Love scored 22 of his season-high 32 points before intermission as the Cavaliers continued to cruise, bouncing back after having their 12-game win streak snapped on Friday to crush the Lakers, 120-105, on Sunday afternoon at The Q.
Love had struggled to find his rhythm recently, posting a pair of five-point performances last week. But he was aggressive from the opening tip against L.A., netting 17 points in the second period and finishing 11-for-18 from the floor on the afternoon, including 7-of-8 from long-distance. Love was also one of three Cavalier starters to grab 10 boards in the victory.
LeBron James was one of those Cavaliers, adding 10 boards to his 22-point effort, barely missing his first triple-double of the season with eight assists. James, who went 8-of-16 from the field, was able to take the fourth quarter off.
Kyrie Irving also doubled-up in the win, finishing with 28 points – nine in the fourth quarter as Cleveland sealed the deal – to go with a game-high 10 assists, including a beautiful alley-oop off an in-bounds to Iman Shumpert, who plucked the ball away from an unsuspecting Carlos Boozer and finished with the two-handed jam.
Timofey Mozgov finished with 10 rebounds to go with eight points and a game-high four blocks. Tristan Thompson, the league’s top-rebounding reserve, finished with 10 points and eight boards and Shumpert pitched in with 12 points, two boards, two assists, two blocks and a game-high four steals.
In beating their ninth straight Western Conference opponent, the Cavaliers shot 55 percent from the floor while holding the Lakers, who attempted an even 100 shots, to 41 percent. Cleveland shot 55 percent from long-distance on Sunday, canning 18 treys and out-running L.A. on the break, 22-8.
KLove, LBJ and Kyrie post double-doubles.
View some of the best snapshots.
Shumpert throws down off the inbound pass.
Go inside the locker room.
Watch full game highlights from Sunday's victory.
Turning Point –Kevin Love was a one-man turning point in the second quarter of Sunday’s win at The Q.
Midway through the period, Tarik Black’s putback pulled the Lakers to within three, 44-41. After a TV timeout, the Cavalier ran off six straight points to take a nine-point lead before Love (quickly) began putting the game out of reach. He canned his first trey with 3:41 remaining in the first half and would proceed to drill three more over the course of the next 2:07. When Timofey Mozgov scored on an alley-oop from LeBron with just over a minute remaining in the half, the Wine and Gold had extended their edge to 26 points. The Lakers got no closer than 15 in the second stanza.
By the Numbers – 9-0 … Cavaliers record over the Western Conference since January 15 – including an L.A. sweep of the Lakers and Clippers for the first time since 2009-10. During that stretch, they’ve topped their opponents – which include the Blazers, Thunder and Clippers – by an average of 10.5 points, holding them to just 43 percent shooting.
Quotable – Coach David Blatt, on Kevin Love’s effort on Sunday afternoon …
”I thought he was outstanding. I was really happy with his activity level. I thought he moved really well to spots and got himself prepared for the opportunities that came his way. He really played good basketball at both ends of the court. That’s reflected in his numbers, and more importantly, he was very, very active tonight and seemed to be fresh and that was good.”
Up Next – After dropping the Lakers to win their 13th game in 14 tries, the Cavaliers wrap up the season’s unofficial first half this Thursday night – welcoming Dwyane Wade and the Heat to Cleveland on Wednesday before traveling to Chicago to face the Bulls in the final night of games before the Break. Kyrie Irving will participate in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and he and LeBron James will suit up for the Eastern Conference All-Stars in one week at Madison Square Garden.