With last night’s comfortable win at the Grindhouse, the Cavs have now beaten the Memphis Grizzlies three times in a row dating back to last season.
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“The last five minutes we played pretty well – defensively we were a lot more aggressive”, said Gasol. “When our defense is clicking, offensively, things get much better”.
Well, let’s hope Knight was right about that last part – that the Grizzlies will not be repeating the “festivities” of opening night on Wednesday, October 28. Then, after Memphis fell behind by as many as 9 in the third quarter, they never trailed by more than 1 in the final stanza before ultimately (kinda) pulling away late.
Cleveland capitalized on Memphis’ shooting woes, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter and extending the margin to 32 in the fourth.
The Cavs dropped their season opener in Chicago on Tuesday night but tonight could be an opportunity for bettors to back Cleveland.
“That’s who we need to be”, James said of the defense.
The good news for Indiana is that George was able to play 37 minutes, his most in a game since suffering a gruesome leg injury in a scrimmage with Team U.S. in the summer of 2014.
Memphis looked like the team that led the National Basketball Association in scoring during the preseason.
It nearly wasn’t enough, though.
George Hill scored 20 points for Indiana, and Paul George and C.J. Miles had 18 each.
“It’s going to be tough to win games when we give up 30 points and 40 points a quarter”, said George Hill, who has scored a team-high 39 points.
Apparently, his complaints didn’t stop there.
Until that is settled, George may want to prolong his patience and try to maintain focus unless he wants to draw another hefty fine which could include game suspensions if he is not careful. On the plus side, the uptempo attack is promising on offense and but for a few poor shooting performances by Paul George and Monta Ellis, the offensive numbers might look even better.
The two teams traded decent quarters, Memphis in the first, Indiana in the second, and the Grizz went into halftime up just one point.
The Grizzlies are a slight two-point favorite over Indiana.
Cavaliers: Play home opener Friday against Miami Heat. Guards Mike Conley and Beno Udrih added 13 apiece, and Green scored 12. The Memphis Grizzlies looked like a royal mess. Through two games, they are giving up an average of 47 points per game in the paint. Like in the second half when they turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions.
Randolph missed eight of 11 shots and finished with 11 points in Thursday’s victory.
Grizzlies: Memphis has won four straight over the Pacers and two in a row at Indiana. Both tie franchise bests. Memphis beat the Timberwolves in last year’s season opener, the only time Memphis has started 1-0 since the franchise moved from Vancouver in 2001. Tony Allen accumulated six points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
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Indiana hosts Utah next, while Memphis travels back home to host Brookyln.
