Final Outcome
The Cavs did everything they could without Kyrie Irving in an attempt to take down the Miami Heat, but came up short, losing 100-96. With Kyrie and Luol Deng unavailable, the Cavs gave up 37 points in the first quarter, and LeBron James had 25 points, setting a Quicken Loans Arena record for points in a quarter. However, the Cavs were able to shut him down until late in the fourth quarter, and battled with the Heat for most of the game, as they tied it at 45, and the game never got beyond a five point Cavs deficit for the rest of the showdown. The Heat turned on some elite defense in the final minutes, pulling out the victory, but this was a very impressive showing from the Cavs.
Key Play to the Game
Down five with just under a minute to play, Dion Waiters attempted to drive to the rim in transition. This was met by Udonis Haslem and LeBron James, who sandwiched Dion and blocked his shot. Dion went tumbling to the floor, slamming his right hip off the ground at an awkward angle. No foul was called, and Dion did not return.
Wine & Gold MVP
Dion Waiters had his first double-double of his career, but I’m picking Jarrett Jack. Jack led the team in scoring with 22 points, and had a ton of energy on both ends in what was easily his best game of the season. He ran the offense efficiently, didn’t overstep his boundaries at all, and hit several key shots down the stretch as the Cavs tried to pull out an improbable victory. Jack shot 8-13, and added four rebounds and four assists to his 22 points. He was excellent tonight.
Top Tweets
RT @ejmaroun: Dion Waiters play by play tonight is going to be the lyrics to that Shots song.
— Cole Patty (@ColePatty) March 18, 2014
Dion over-helps on Rio in the paint, Alonzo Gee ninja-kicks Toney Douglas after the shot trying to close out on him.
— Trevor Magnotti (@Tmagnotti) March 18, 2014
Oh RT @WindhorstESPN: LeBron has 16 points in first 6 minutes in Cleveland, hit first 4 3-point attempts
— My own worst enemy (@mynewhate) March 18, 2014
@HPbasketball According to my database they remain the league leaders.
— Jeff Stotts (@RotowireATC) March 18, 2014
geez Bron.
— Kendall Marshall (@KButter5) March 18, 2014
LeBron is wrecking Alonzo Gee but the Cavs’ bigs are destroying the Heat inside.
— Trevor Magnotti (@Tmagnotti) March 18, 2014
HEY @CAVSDAN, YOU’VE GOT THIS GUY COMING “@_GodsSoldier_10 1000 retweets I’ll go on the court pic.twitter.com/oLFV8Ti8G5”
— Duje Silver Dekan (@thegnc) March 19, 2014
Dion and Tristan both showing why it’s hard to give up on them.
— David Zavac (@DavidZavac) March 19, 2014
/waits for all of the “are the cavs better w/o Kyrie?” HOT-SPORTS-TAKES!
— Patrick Fenelon (@Patrick_Fenelon) March 19, 2014
Waiters has 12 points and 10 assists for his first double-double.
— Mike Schreiner (@Mike_RDE)
We did it! RT @HPbasketball: Wow. Delly. Varejao. Hawes. This MAY be the most annoying lineup in the history of professional basketball.
— Ziggy (@ZiggyOfAk) March 19, 2014
I liked the Jarrett Jack signing because he was good Waiters/Irving injury insurance LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT
— David Zavac (@DavidZavac) March 19, 2014
Here’s the tale of a failed court stormer in Cleveland. Glad he was caught. http://t.co/oNygqyivIH
— SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) March 19, 2014
Coach Brown Breakdown:
The decision to start Dion and management of Varejao’s playing time was very helpful to the Cavs staying in this game til the end. Varejao, who hasn’t played many minutes per game since his return, played 26 minutes tonight as it became clear the Cavs had the advantage down low when Varejao was in. The offense was aso surprisingly creative tonight, as the Cavs ran far less ISO action than they usually do, and were able to get guys good looks inside for easy buckets. Brown definitely outcoached Eric Spoelstra tonight.
Up Next:
There’s no rest for the banged-up Cavs, as they get a day off before the Oklahoma City Thunder come to town, likely looking for revenge for the Cavs’ victory in OKC a few weeks ago. The game is at 7 p.m.
