Cavs 112, Hornets 103 (or, grinding one out)

The Charlotte Hornets came to town today for their fourth and final game against the Cavaliers, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Michael Jordan’s team. With just a half-game of separation between the third and sixth seeds in the Eastern Conference, the Hornets entered the game tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the third spot, meaning there’s at least some chance the Cavaliers and Hornets could meet again in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers were without point guard Kyrie Irving this afternoon, as he was suffering from a sprained ankle that occurred during Friday night’s victory over the Atlanta Hawks, and the Hornets were missing Al Jefferson, but with just seven games left in the regular season both teams were looking to do what they could to solidify their playoff positions.

First Quarter

Matthew Dellavedova started for Irving, alongside J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Timofey Mozgov. The Hornets countered with Kemba Walker, Courtney Lee, Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, and Cody Zeller. The Hornets won the jump, which I only mention because the Cavaliers never do. The Cavaliers had the turnover bug early with three in the first two minutes of the game, two involving Timofey Mozgov. Both teams were able to get inside early, and the game was fairly even to start. The Hornets took an 11-6 lead after a three by Marvin Williams and a jumper by Kemba Walker. Neither team was showing much intensity, but the Hornets were making a few more shots. LeBron began to become more involved as the quarter went on, scoring twice at the rim and facilitating a runner by Smith and three by Love that gave the Cavaliers a 15-14 lead. The turnover bug continued, but a pretty rough offensive foul by Marvin Williams to level Love gave the ball back to the Cavaliers. Both teams continued to play physically, but the Cavaliers began to really clamp down on defense, and were able to extend their lead to four. LeBron sat down with 2:30 left in the first quarter to get a quick rest, and Mo Williams got some first quarter run. LeBron then returned with 1:30 left in the quarter after Love hit his second three of the quarter to push the lead to seven. The Cavaliers shot 68% from the floor compared to just 33% for the Hornets and led 29-19 after one.

Second Quarter

The Cavaliers continued with their lineup of Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert, LeBron, Frye, and Tristan Thompson that they ended the first quarter with. They quickly pushed the lead to 12 after a monstrous dunk by Shumpert, and responded to a pair of Hornets buckets with a Mo Williams three plus a steal and dunk by James to push the lead to 15. The Hornets came back with a pair of buckets as Frye and Thompson struggled to protect the interior. Frye quickly made up for it with a corner three off some great ball movement to push the lead back to fourteen. At this point, the Cavs were rolling on both ends of the floor and the Hornets seemed completely outmatched. They were missing easy shots at rim, while the Cavaliers continued to dominate the boards on both ends, at times seemingly having the ball fall into their laps. A three by Delly and a pair of buckets by James and Thompson pushed the Cavs’ lead to 21 with five minutes left in the quarter and things were looking phenomenal.

Of course, the Hornets then scored six straight points out of the timeout, to trim the Cavaliers’ lead to fifteen. Part of this was due to the Hornets’ aggression, part of it was the Cavaliers cooling off a bit from the field. To their credit, the Cavaliers continued to move the ball and attack the basket, and Thompson split a pair of free throws to stop the bleeding. Every time the Hornets cut into the lead, the Cavaliers were able to answer, and they led 58-42 at the half. The Cavaliers shot 60% from the floor and 57% from three for the first half while holding the Hornets to 38% shooting and just 25% from three. LeBron James had 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with three rebounds and six assists while playing 20 minutes in the first half to lead the way, Kevin Love had 13 points and three rebounds, and Tristan Thompson had four offensive rebounds. Now the goal was to avoid a third quarter similar to the one they had Friday night against the Hawks.

Third Quarter

The Cavaliers caught a break when Nic Batum was ruled out for the rest of the game with a knee strain. They started the second half well, as a pair of baskets by Love and Mozgov pushed the lead to 20. The ball continued to move and the defensive intensity was solid, but the Hornets kept the lead from growing by getting to the line early and often. The Cavs went cold while settling for jumpers, and a three by Kemba Walker brought the Hornets to within 14 and Tyronn Lue quickly called timeout. Unfortunately for the Cavs, the Hornets continued a 9-0 to get to within 11 before Kevin Love stopped the bleeding. Kemba Walker got to the line again off a foul by Dellavedova late in the shot clock, then converted an and-one off a LeBron James turnover to bring the Hornets to within eight. At this point a certain blogger began to get annoyed. J.R. Smith then relieved some of the stress by knocking down a three, but the red-hot Walker answered with another jumper. Smith took matters into his own hands with another three, but LeBron turned the ball over yet again, costing the Cavaliers another two points. He made up for it by knocking down a pair of free throws after a timeout, while Smith continued his barrage from three. Mo Williams hit a trey of his own, and the Cavaliers withstood the Hornets run and pushed the lead back out to 15 with an 86-71 lead after three. Despite how bad it looked at times, the Cavaliers were only outscored by one in the quarter, a significant improvement over recent games.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavs started the fourth with a lineup of Mo Williams, Smith, Shumpert, Thompson, and Frye. This unit had trouble creating space on offense, and the Hornets cut the lead to 11 before Tyronn Lue quickly called timeout. LeBron checked back in, and quickly converted an and-one to get the Cavaliers their first points of the quarter. Walker and Lin then each got to the line before the Cavaliers took another shot, and the lead was back down to ten. The Cavs stopped moving the ball, and LeBron settled for a pair of horrible jumpers before a Jeremy Lin layup brought the Hornets to within eight. A jumper by Shumpert pushed the lead back to ten, and Kevin Love answered a Spencer Hawes three with one of his own to keep it there. A huge rebound by Love followed by James cleaning up his own miss pushed the Cavaliers’ lead to ten, but the Hornets went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to four. A certain blogger stared at the television in disbelief, but luckily Charlotte still wasn’t guarding J.R. Smith, and he hit yet another three to push the lead back to seven. After the teams traded baskets, Jeremy Lin had a crucial turnover that led to a Kevin Love three that pushed the lead back to ten. The Hornets quickly answered with a three by Marvin Williams out of the timeout, but Dellavedova fed James for a monster jam that was seemingly the dagger. To the Hornets’ credit, they kept fighting, and Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams each hit a pair of freebies to bring Charlotte to within seven. The Cavs were able to score off a pair of J.R. Smith layps on their next two possessions to push the lead to nine, and the Hornets finally waved the white flag as the Cavaliers emerged victorious by final score of 112-103 for their 55th win of the season. The Cavs shot 54% from the floor and 55% from three, while limiting the Hornets to 45% from the floor and 35% from deep, but shot just 13 free throws compared to 27 for Charlotte. James, Love, and Smith combine for 83 points, 22 rebounds, and 19 assists in three extremely impressive performances.

Things I’ve Noticed

Turnovers and settling for jumpers remain an issue. Along with the Hornets getting to the line, the 17 turnovers coughed up by the Cavs today were a bit part of the reason Charlotte made it a game. While the Cavs shot very well today, they were undoubtedly at their best when they attacked the basket and only took open jumpers.

No Richard Jefferson today. Considering LeBron played 41 minutes today after playing 45 on Friday night, one has to wonder if Jefferson was injured, given a day off to rest, or out of the rotation. Regardless of Jefferson’s status, that a lot of minutes for King James.

The big man rotation has been a hot topic among many fans, media, and the writers at Cavs: The Blog. Each of Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye, and Timofey Mozgov bring various strengths and weaknesses to the table, and the case can be made that each one is essential to this team winning a title. While he continues to start, the case could be made that Mozgov has the most tenuous grip on playing time, considering the Cavs regularly play their worst when he is on the floor. Frye has struggled lately, but the team still plays well with him on the floor. Thompson is as consistent as anyone on the team, and Love is easily the best player among the four with a unique combination of shooting, passing, and rebounding. Is Mozgov’s rim protection—which isn’t as good as it was last season—enough to keep him in the rotation? We’ll know soon.

Marvin Williams has come a long way in his NBA career. Long considered a bust after being selected second overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, Williams has become an extremely effective stretch four in today’s NBA. He’s going to get paid this offseason.

After improving the last few weeks, Thompson has hit another rough patch with his free throw shooting, making just three of his last twelve attempts from the line. Hopefully he can get back on track enough that this isn’t a major issue in the postseason. Thompson is no Mark Price, but he’s no DeAndre Jordan either.

Today’s win gives the Cavaliers a three-and-a-half game lead over the Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with each team having six or fewer games left. While nothing is set in stone, it’s hard to see the Cavs not finishing with the top seed in the East. They’ll be back in action Tuesday night when they travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks.