Recap: Cavs 114, Spurs 109 (or, Crucible in the Texas Hills)

On this cold January night I ascend two flights of stairs into the attic to make my humble return to you, dear reader. The vintage aluminum cases and heavy dials are alight with the yellow glow of vacuum tubes once again, the antennae mounted atop my house aimed north, the game flickering to life on the screen. I was briefly hung up by that very antennae or, rather, the curiosity it awoke in one of my neighbors — nothing a few bottles of wine  couldn’t take care of — and laid off for a while from hijacking the equipment in the Aviary. We call it the Aviary because I am its ‘beepkeeper.’ A little numbers station humor for you, dear reader, before we begin. 

1st Quarter

The much-anticipated return of Isaac Okoro to the lineup was tonight briefly delayed by his nascent minutes restriction as one Lamar Stevens found himself once again starting for the Cavs. I mention the duo early and intentionally as most of this recap will concern the later parts of the game in which the two play important roles. From the jump, however, the Cavs conducted themselves in the bourgeoning Cavs fashion, taking a lead quickly with frustrating defense and precise offensive execution.

The Spurs struggled to score in the paint, ignoring the open perimeter. The Cavs, aware of San Antonio’s league-low three point volume, were happy to cede the arc. The wine and gold themselves, however, often found the paint crowded by drop and weakside help engineered by the San Antonio brain trust to counter Cleveland’s proficient pick and roll game. I briefly became complacent, a hubristic demeanor the Cavs have not *quite* earned, and assumed a trouncing. The Cavs finished in quarter with the lead, 35-26

2nd Quarter

The first several minutes of the 2nd Quarter were a showcase of Evan Mobley’s ascendant midrange game as Mobley (15 points, six rebounds in 39 minutes played) scored with ease from the weak side elbow and the top of the key.The Spurs began to capitalize on the valuable real estate behind the arc and Dejounte Murray (30 points, 14 rebounds) demonstrated his own point-god prowess closing the lead to a single possession halfway through the quarter. Stevens played with greater effort than the Spur’s bench unit and managed to gut out a few defensive stops while scoring efficiently at the basket. A beautiful Garland last second shot from the middle of the logo arced high and true, first through the hopefully well-filtered facsimile of sky above the Spur’s home court and then through the net as the buzzer sounded. The precocious Cavaliers finished the half up 64-59 with Allen nearing a double-double and Garland scoring 16 points.

3rd Quarter

With recent addition Rajon Rondo sidelined with soreness, Brandon Goodwin – himself recently added to the roster as a two-way player – found himself aiming down the sights of the Cav’s offense in the latter part of third quarter. The aim of the Florida Gulf Coast eagle was less than true but the munitions were still effective enough to keep the game close throughout. Okoro did much of the heavy lifting for the second unit as circumstance, or perhaps wisdom incomprehensible to myself, urged JB Bickerstaff to play Stevens and Okoro simultaneously for practically the first time in the season.

The lineup, burly as it was, seemed handicapped from the start as the defense often broke down and Okoro, albeit successfully, played the miscast roll of “the offence.” The quarter concluded with a brilliant sequence finding Mobley catching an in-bounds pass at the top of the arc. Evan nimbly put the rock on the floor toward the weakside, drawing help defense with each immeasurable step, creating an open shot for Cedi Osman who swished from the left wing – bathed in the glow of lamplight marking the quarter’s expiration. The Cavs survived down two, 86-84.

4th Quarter

After Dejounte’s brilliance helped the Spurs push ahead, The Cavs tied the game early in the quarter with a dazzling offensive sequence to tie the game at 88. As the shot clock dwindled, Cedi found himself with the ball above the key and kicked a High pass to Garland on the right side. Darius leapt to catch the pass one handed and whipsawwed a pass back to a cutting Osman through a passing window with no millimeters to spare before landing and with the same hand, as if spiking a volleyball. The brilliant play was nearly ruined by Cedi’s miss at the rim yet triumphantly rescued by a following Lauri Markkanen’s put-back slam. This, dear reader, was basketball excellence.

Garland’s accurate play bolstered his defensive effort as his midrange game looked honed. Indeed, a staggered pick and roll with two bigs up top and Garland moving hard to the left, produce identical elbow jumpers on consecutive possessions and later a layup against a scrambling San Antonio squad. However, the Spurs continued to hit shots both difficult and frustratingly easy shots to keep the game close. Meanwhile, the a typically inaccurate Cavaliers had been quietly missing half of their free throw attempts while the Spurs remained steadfast from the foul line.

The disparity began to feel game-deciding. At the halfway point, the twitter zeitgeist moaned while the misses piled. Everyone missed their and1s or split their pair. With nearly six minutes left in the quarter a Cedi free throw brought the score to Cavs 104, Spurs 103. San Antonio would not score again for almost five minutes. Cleveland obliged and ceased scoring as well.

Time began to slow. My children grew, learned hard lessons, got their first jobs, travelled to visit small liberal arts colleges. The the scoring standoff remained 104-103. And then the Cavs came to a sudden realization — they were tall. After a fruitless drive with a needless pass and a lifetime in a few minutes without points , Markkannen broke the spell. Lauri attacked a left corner closeout and drove to tobpowerful slam. Garland found Allen (17 points, 16 rebounds), also tall, with a magical lob, for an easy oop off a short pick and roll. It was winning time.

With just over a minute left, JB called both of his remaining timeouts on consecutive possessions, largely to allow Garland to catch his breath. Gregg Popovich concocted his own coaching magic in retort as the game devolved into intentional fouling and dwindling win conditions for the Spurs. Darius Garland played the role of closer at the charity stripe. The listless crowd wobbled to the exits, clearly one too many Sasparillas deep as outside of the Alamo, aardvarks ambled sleepily past careening tumbleweeds and the moon over the Balcones Escarpment beckoned everyone home to slumber. Cavs win, 114-109.