The Cavaliers have been plotting for ways to rest James without missing much game time, but Blatt insisted the special circumstances of playing an overtime game Friday in a different time zone led to his decision. However, the Cavaliers outscored the Pelicans, 24-11, over the final minutes of play, thanks in large part to the 13 points LeBron James scored in the waning moments of regulation.
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It was clear from the opening whistle that Cleveland was exhausted and outmatched.
Atlanta got off to a quick start and led by 19 points in the second quarter.
Davis scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and recorded four steals to help his team stop a four-game losing streak and get its fifth win of the season. LeBron James is sitting against the Heat after a big game last night.
Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and took the fourth quarter off, Tyler Johnson added 19 more and the Heat had little trouble on the way to beating the Cavaliers 99-84 on Saturday night, sending Cleveland to its third straight loss. This was the first game missed by the former Heat star this season.
Cleveland will do its best to counter a very balanced Heat offense.
Nobody believed that the Pelicans would be even close in this game, yet here they are pulling out a stunning victory in overtime.
Miami extended its lead to 60-42 at halftime. The Heat at least temporarily surpassed the Cavs for the top spot in the East. The Indiana Pacers were an overtime loss at Utah on Saturday from dropping the Cavs to third. They gathered for a team lunch at the hotel at noon, followed by a team meeting at 1 p.m.in advance of Saturday’s game.
“It was a good professional win”.
“We’re not going to overanalyze it”, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Dragic’s improved play. “So that obviously changes things, but you still have to go out there and compete and play the right way and I think our guys approached the game the right way to build habits and get this win at home”.
The Cavs managed just 3 points in overtime and didn’t score their first basket until three minutes remained. Bosh also did a great job defending Kevin Love, who finished with just five points on 2-of-11 shooting. Dragic inked a max-deal but has provided just 10.8 points and 4.5 assists per game this season while shooting just 27 percent from three-point range.
“I wish we could have gotten CB those minutes off. But tomorrow will be family and football day, so he can rest all day long.”
The Heat also out-rebounded the Cavaliers 41-36.
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All we do know is that two free throws later, and a missed Russell Westbrook three-pointer at the buzzer, and everyone started to realize that this Heat team is ready to make a championship run. In three games back from a shoulder strain, the ailing center, who also underwent offseason knee surgery, is 4 for 19.
