Recap: Cavaliers 116, Lakers 102 (or, Mistakes on the Lake(rs))

About twice a year the eyes of national basketball attention, often perched high in the formidable heads of vets-turned-analysts, or peering through screens at tweet deck, taste makers and old media alike, turn toward, in their estimation, the cold and sleepy rust belt town of Cleveland to watch the King himself return home to dominate the team he once saved from utter obscurity.

This year, something has changed. That sleepy town is awake with energy, centering on it’s central hub of sports arenas, where (save for one franchise this writer cannot bear to witness) the hearth once more glows ember hot with the passion of sports success. The old narratives no longer fit, and while it may take the TNT broadcast team a moment to change the script, the fine people of Cleveland can enjoy with clarity and righteousness that the Cavs are not just a footnote in LeBron’s story; indeed, tonight, he became but a deserving chapter in a story of continued success.

1st Quarter

The Cavs opened with a starting line up that would include Jarret Allen’s return from a five game injury absence and continued to feature Lamar Stevens as the starting small forward. On the Lakers’ second possession Lebron James (21 pts, 17 rebounds) found the break and slammed the ball down on a highlight dunk only for Allen to answer with his own signature slam on the other end of the court. Jarrett announceed that he was here to play, and that the Lakers would have to reckon with his presence in his paint. They did, eventually, but far too late. L.A.’s weakside help defense was a mess. Lebron led an ineffective drop scheme that allowed the Cavs Guards to easily find Allen (24 pts, 11 rebounds) in pick and roll actions for easy points in the paint, at one point allowing the big man to score on nine straight attempts. Neither team could find an outside shot yet both struggled to contain two-man actions or shifty guard penetration. Anthony Davis made a hasty exit after only eight minutes with flu like symptoms, although Lakers backup Thomas Bryant (19 pts, nine rebounds) played well in his stead. The Lakers managed to bring the game close as the Cav’s reserve unit failed to keep up momentum, with Kevin Love looking as frustrated as I have seen him since 2020 at Caris LeVert’s apparent missteps on defense. Near the end of the quarter LeBron had a chase down block on Love that was called goaltending. It was a bizzaro-world replay of a 2016 finals moment that could have been. The Cavs finished the quarter down one, 27-26.

2nd Quarter

The Lakers were unable or unwilling to fully address their defensive woes in the paint as the second quarter found continued success in two and three man actions from the Cavs offense. Allen continued to make shots, seeing his first miss late in the quarter, just as Donovan Mitchell (43 pts, 5 assists) started to find some rhythm off the dribble for easy runs to the basket. The Lakers flirted with a box-and-1 defense allowing the only real hot outside shooting streak from Cleveland who punished the Laker’s defense with a 15-4 run to end the quarter. LeBron and Allen continued to match up on both ends of the floor, with the results being thrilling to watch and mostly to the Cavs’ advantage. The Cavs looked like the better team but the Lakers seemed committed to waiting for their outside shots to start falling and didn’t do enough to shore up the interior defends, allowing the Cavs to take a 57-49 lead into the locker room.

3rd Quarter

Halftime allowed for the Lakers to make some serious defensive adjustments. They started over-helping from the weakside, choosing to leave the likes of LeVert, Osman, or Stevens more open in the corner in order to stymie the bleeding inside, and committed to going under guard screens and stepping up into the pick and roll. At times, L.A. even doubled the guards off any screen action with the length they have from their bench forwards. The Cavs reacted with increased pace getting into half court sets (where the Lakers thrive defensively and the Cavs have somewhat struggled) and started to create more turnovers by crowding passing lanes and recovering and closing out well. Spida got radioactive hot, easily finding space at the periphery of the newly crowded paint to find the basket or a timely floater from eight feet. However, enough possessions on both ends were still ending in missed threes. Offensive rebounding and cold Cavalier shooting allowed Lakers to make up ground on the Cavs through the quarter, which would finish with Cleveland down two, 85-83.

4th Quarter

The fourth quarter became a game of Cavalanches. At least two periods of explosive scoring by the wine and gold Donovan Mitchell completely overwhelmed the Lakers. The second run strong was enough to send the starters to the benches. It was a beautiful thing to witness. There is some quality to the eruptions of Cavs scoring in this post-LeBron era that stands as uniquely thrilling, and some poet better than I eventually will, or perhaps already has, captured it. It’s an essential thing, visceral, that holds the excitement of the unexpected even when wholly expected. It’s magical. And we got to see it twice in the fourth quarter of a nationally televised game against LeBron and the Lakers.

With the Allen PnR game mostly subsumed and outside shots unreliable, the Cleveland guards, and very specifically one Donovan Mitchell (43/6/5 & four steals!) navigated with pace and efficiency to exploit a reeling, seemingly tired, and stressed Lakers defense. Donovan operated with super-star energy and precision as he absolutely dismantled the Lakers. He assisted on a three-pointer, made his own triple, and continued to score seven straight points in around a minute early fourth quarter action, building a 101-92 lead around the six minute mark. A beautiful LeBron block ended a 9-0 Cavs run only for Mitchell to answer with a circus shot and-1. Mitchell came up with a few steals, a Mobley block was converted quickly to a Mitchell three-ball over a stunned and clearly overmatched Austin Reaves, and with three minutes left in the game, the Cavs sat pretty with a 98-113 lead, and it was time to pull the Lakers starters for a little extra rest. Cavs win, 102-116.