Recap: Cavs 116, Hornets 105 (or, Wrapper’s Delight)

The remaining members of the venerable hip-hop progenitors The Sugar Hill Gang performed their greatest hit live at the Quicken Loans Arena during halftime last night… oh, and there was also a pretty good basketball game on either side of it. The Cavaliers extended their current winning streak to four and beat the Hornets for the sixth straight time in Cleveland, getting the job done in true old-school fashion on the second night of a rare home-and-home back-to-back. The classic throwback orange uniforms were back for an encore, as was the early 80s musical theme throughout the evening, beginning with the Cavs taking the floor to the strains of Axel F, the theme song to Beverly Hills Cop.

Contrary to some pre-game rumors of Coach Ty Lue possibly resting LeBron James (maintenance) and Kevin Love (stiffness from back spasms), both of them not only played… but played a lot. For added measure, J.R. Smith also returned to the floor after a three game absence due to a hyper-extended knee, so the only missing Cav was Channing Frye (excused to attend his father’s funeral). And, for a team that might have had some weary legs from getting their boogie on the night before against the Heat, the Cavaliers came out looking to set the nets on fire early.

Before you could say hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don’t stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat… the Cavs built a ten point first quarter lead on the back of some torrid shooting. They got up by getting down… mainly down low to Kevin Love, who was a force in the paint… converting on 6-7 post ups in the first quarter alone. Both LeBron and Kyrie were moving the ball around to the shooters (a combined 10 assists in the period), getting J.R. Smith his first three in a while, and a pair from downtown for Iman Shumpert (who’s shot and headband brought back flashes of Boobie Gibson). LBJ even got into the three point act himself (more on that later), but reached a milestone with this in-rhythm perfect assist to TT…

Being just the 16th player to ever reach the 7K assist plateau (and the first and only front court player to do so) seemed to energize LeBron, as he paced the Cavs with 10 more points in the second quarter… on his way to 18 for the half on 8-10 shooting. He also kept dishing it out, setting up Iman, J.R., Kyrie and Richard Jefferson on an array of other high percentage shots. At one point, the Cavs had made 25 of their first 35 shots (7-11 from deep), maintaining their boxscore inferno of 71%, while hip-hopping their way out to a 19 point lead. The Hornets were only a few ridiculous Marco Belinelli heaves away from being blown out, and were fortunate to find themselves trailing by only 15 at the half.

The hot streak finally came to an end in the third quarter for the Cavs, as Charlotte came out ready to battle back with an 11-0 run. They pulled to within three points, extending their advantage to 18-6 to start the period behind a nine point flurry by Kemba Walker and some easy baskets off of dribble penetration. It was fairly clear that the heaviest legs belonged to Kyrie, as he struggled to both stay in front of Kemba and to hit his own shots. Fortunately, the Cavs were able to counter the swarm with some more Love in the post, another three from the King, and then a steady march to the free throw line (thanks to the Hornets being in the penalty early) to rebuild their lead. Kyrie even checked back in and shook off his dead legs to knock down his second triple of the game to push the margin back to 11 to end the quarter.

When it was clear that Charlotte wasn’t going to go away easily in the fourth quarter, it was time for LeBron to wrap things up. With a tick a tock, y’all, a beat beat, y’all, a let’s rock, y’all, you don’t stop y’all, like a hot buttered pop da pop da pop dibbie dibbie, pop da pop pop, don’t you dare stop… and LBJ didn’t. All he did was score 17 of the team’s final 24 points… assisting on all but two of the other seven. It was very nearly a throwback reminiscent of his late game dominance against the Pistons during the 2007 Conference Finals. When it was all said and done, the King had carried the rest of the weary wine & gold gang to another convincing victory, scoring a season high 44 points, and missing a triple double by a single rebound. He even ended the final possession in style… a wrapper’s delight indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkcXmfAZjr8

In honor of the old school halftime entertainment… here were the rest of the highlights set to some of The Sugar Hill Gang’s greatest hits…

8th Wonder

Clap your hands everybody

And everybody just clap your hands

Another game… another record smashed for King James. As if he doesn’t already own a lion’s share of monumental achievements in NBA history, this latest one cemented the uniquely diverse nature of his game. With his perfect pass to a diving TT in the first quarter, LBJ became the first player ever to notch 7,000 assists to go with at least 7,000 rebounds and 27,000 points. He’s the first non-guard to reach the 7K dime level, and trails only CP3 among active players. He should easily crack the top 10 in assists by next season, and could very well end up top five all time when it’s all said and done. As usual though, he took it all in stride…

“I don’t know what to say,” James said when asked about the achievement. “That’s the triple threat of me. To rebound, to pass, to put the ball in the hole a little bit. It’s just an honor. I’m just blessed. To be the only one to put up those numbers is pretty cool because this is the game I love. It’s the game I watched my whole life growing up, so it’s incredible.”

But, enough about passing… LeBron was in a rare scoring beast mode in this game. He tested his jumper early and often, finding it hotter than buttered popcorn. The threes dropped, and they didn’t stop… they just rocked the rhythm that makes your finger pop. LBJ made good on five of his first eight from downtown (he finished 5-10), after going just 5-18 over his previous few games. But it wasn’t just his outside game that was poppin’… he also attacked the rack with gusto… throwing down hammers like this one…

.@KingJames throws down the gnarly slam! #ALLinORANGE https://t.co/8HdcGljNiB

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 11, 2016

On a night when he knew his teammates were weary, the King rejected Ty Lue’s best efforts to manage his minutes, and instead told his Coach he was going to shoulder the load. He wound up with a game high 43 minutes, but it was needed on a night when Kyrie was worn out.

“I didn’t want to play LeBron this many minutes, but he came and said, `Coach, I’m fine,” Lue said. “Then, he started raining 3s. We had to ride him tonight.”

James did wind up falling just short of a triple double by one rebound (the 41st time in his career that he’s been one assist or rebound shy of the feat), finishing with 44 points, 10 assists and nine boards. Maybe now that his three game sojourn against the three GMs he most enjoys tormenting (Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Michael Jordan) has ended, he can rest up a bit. Although with a back-to-back up next against the Grizzlies… rest might just have to wait.

Apache (Jump On It)

Pound for pound, I will never break down

(Big Bank) no sir, I don’t mess around

It might be easy to miss what Canadian Dynamite did in this game, until you took a look at the box score. Tristan jumped on it, putting up yet another double double, going a perfect 5-5 from the field for 13 points, while pulling down 12 boards (including four offensive). Against the best defensive rebounding team in the league in Charlotte, TT was a machine in helping the Cavs win the rebounding battle 40-39. Even after his hard fall over Hassan Whiteside the previous night, he still played a manly 28 minutes, and remains an unbreakable force at the center of the Cavs lineup.

The Lover In You

I am the king of the rappin’ thing

But love, is really my game

Kevin Love was 0-4 from beyond the arc in this game. The last time Kev was shut out from deep (with more than one attempt) was in the Cavs first loss of the season against Atlanta. But, just like in that game, KLove didn’t let that stop him. Instead, he lived in the post, aggressively attacking the Hornets’ front line (especially in the opening quarter when he still had some semblance of energy in his legs). He knocked down six of his first seven post-ups, and wound up 7-8 from two point range for 22 points. He was also terrific at drawing fouls on the night, getting to the line 10 times (and sinking eight of them). Kev also snared six boards and came up with three steals, including one where he stripped Kemba Walker after playing some stellar defense out on the perimeter. On a night when Kev didn’t have much energy in the tank (and with a stiff back to boot), he still came up with a solid effort and gave the Cavs an early boost.

Be A Winner

S-U-C-C-E-S-S… what does it spell? Success!

You got to B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E… be aggressive! Hit it!

The work that Iman Shumpert did on his jump shot over the summer is really starting to pay dividends. This was the kind of three and D performance the Cavs were probably hoping to get when they traded for Shump initially. Against Charlotte, Shump was Shump-tastic, knocking down 5-8 from the field, and 4-6 from downtown for 16 points on a super successful night. Iman was aggressive with his shot, and really helped fill the scoring void off the bench. He also grabbed five boards and played some terrific defense in his 32 minutes, leading the team with a +22. If Shump can keep this up, he’s going to add a scary dimension to this team. Maybe he’s onto something with that Boobie headband…

The Down Beat

False alarm, there is no fire

The smoke you see is from my astonishing rhythm

Kyrie was tired… and it was pretty obvious. Though he had some success setting up his teammates early (four assists in the first quarter), he ran out of steam as the game wore on. There wasn’t much fire in his shot, as he was the lone Cav who couldn’t quite heat up. Kyrie shot just 4-13 for the game for 11 points, and only got to the line once. He also, despite doing a decent job in the first quarter, hit a wall in trying to stop Kemba Walker from blowing past him on defense. On the whole, it was a fairly forgettable night for Uncle Drew, although he did hit a landmark of his own on his first triple of the night…

Make #CavsHistory, youngblood. 👌@KyrieIrving joins @KingJames and @Mark25Price as the only Cavaliers with 600+ career triples. https://t.co/vdCZP16ZU4

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 11, 2016

The Word Is Out

Get ready, cause the groove is hot

Get ready, give it all you got

DeAndre Liggins’ stay in the starting lineup came to an end with the return of J.R. Smith, but his usefulness in the rotation did not. He may not have scored a point, he may have turned the ball over a few times on traveling calls, but he brought his signature toughness and defensive mindset to the court. The word is out that Lig is helping to alter the defensive culture of this team, and you could once again see it in the +14 he logged during his 15 minutes. He also seems to be particularly effective when combined with Shump.

Kick It Live From 9 to 5

Let’s cram the jam with the homeboy

Cause we can party from 9 to 5

Richard Jefferson always seems to have fun when he’s working. RJ never fails to bring his hardhat and a smile to the game with him. And, he can still get up to throw it down, and cram the jam with the best of them.

Radical Richard Jefferson living up to his name! 😎#CavsHornets || #CavsHWC https://t.co/sB5X4PrQuf

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 11, 2016

Livin’ In The Fast Lane

Ah baby, in the fast lane, ain’t nothin’ movin’ slow

After sitting out the last two plus games with a hyper-extended knee, J.R. Smith was back in full force. There was no slow re-introduction to the starting lineup, as J.R. got a significant run of 32 minutes on the court. Swish got off to a fast start with an early triple, and then another in the second quarter, but he seemed to have trouble getting open in the second half and ended up just 2-6 from the floor (all from beyond the arc). He was also still a step slow on the defensive end, which was to be expected with the knee injury, but is something that has plagued J.R. in the early season.

(w)Rapper’s Reprise

These back-to-back throwback nights were a lot of fun, not only for the results on the court but also the enjoyment the players and fans got out of how well the Cavs organization planned them for maximum nostalgia. The teams of the early 80s weren’t always that good, but their uniforms were awesome, and it’s great to remember the history of this franchise… especially now that the Cavs have a championship under their belt. It’s also been tremendous to see the team clicking on and off the court in this recovery period post their three game swoon. They’ll have their full complement of players back with Channing in the fold for the upcoming home and away back-to-back against Memphis next week, and it should be a fun couple of weeks leading up to the Christmas Day showdown with the Warriors. Until then, let’s hope the Cavaliers stay vicious and nutritious… just like the Sugar Hill Gang.