After what happened in San Antonio on Thursday night, no one would have blamed the Cavaliers if they lost Friday night in Houston.
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The Spurs picked it up offensively to start the second half and went on an 11-0 run to take the lead. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
Reserve guard Manu Ginobili added 10 points for the Spurs.Cleveland (27-10), which had its eight-game win streak snapped, placed all five of its starters in double-figure scoring. If they can win against the Cavs, they will establish a first in the NBA: The Elias Sports Bureau says they would become the first team in NBA history with a 10-game win streak in six consecutive seasons, according to ESPN.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as Milwaukee Bucks overcame Atlanta Hawks 108-101 in overtime and Ryan Anderson’s season-high haul of 32 points gave New Orleans Pelicans a 109-107 win over Charlotte Hornets.
Harden is one of the NBA’s best scorers.
Going into this game all talks were on how many match-ups were on the floor. “Of course, when you have a guy like LeBron, the whole team plays different. As a team we were pretty sharp after that first quarter”.
James shot nine for 17 and attempted only four free throws.
San Antonio limited Cleveland to 9-for-23 shooting in the fourth while making 58 percent of its own shots.
Small forward LeBron James scored 19 points, pulled down seven rebounds, handed out seven assists and blocked two shots, while power forward Kevin Love tallied 11 points and collected 13 caroms.
Cleveland is four games ahead of everyone else in first place in the conference as Kyrie is averaging over 16 points and 4.1 assists since his return.
“We wanted to try to finish off the right way”, James said.
The Spurs looked unsure on offense early, so they went to an old standard in Parker’s drives to the basket. “We have to be a little bit more determined to play throughout the game with flow and pace”. “I’m going to see my kids”. LaMarcus Aldridge secured a rebound to ice the game while Kawhi Leonard picked his spots excellently for two baskets, including this put-back slam.
The San Antonio Spurs entered Thursday night’s highly anticipated game against the Cleveland Cavaliers having trailed for just 54 seconds in the fourth quarters of their first 22 home games. “It is not easy to do and he still was aggressive offensively”, said Popovich.
Thompson’s impact was also felt on both ends of the floor, as he took over for what’s been a watered-down version of Timofey Mozgov.
The game was tight most of the second half, before the Spurs used a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter and forced the Cavs to play catch-up.
Eighteen of Parker’s points came in the first half, when just about every other San Antonio player was struggling.
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Nowitzki’s 3-pointer with 2:15 to play put the Mavericks up 79-72, and Chicago’s Jimmy Butler missed two 3-pointers in the final 12 seconds as the Bulls tried to rally. They capped off a six-game road trip with a ninth win in 10 games, and plenty of reasons to feel confident about their big showdown with the Golden State Warriors on Monday, hoping not just to avenge their Christmas loss to the National Basketball Association champions, but also show they can learn from the mistakes of that close loss and from the one to the Spurs.
