The Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Indiana Pacers in a thrilling 111-106 overtime win.
Cleveland got out to a fast start, but they couldn’t keep it going. The Cavs started the second half poorly, but they turned it around in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving made the game tying bucket with less than a minute to play to send it to overtime. Irving followed that up by scoring 8 points in the extra frame to give Cleveland the win.
Here’s what we learned.
1. Tyronn Lue isn’t afraid to let his players struggle.
The Cavaliers looked bad for much of the third quarter. They were reverting back to their old ways of isolation basketball with no ball movement. Instead of calling a timeout and bailing the team out, Lue channeled his inner Phil Jackson and decided to let his team figure it out for themselves.
The third quarter wasn’t pretty. Indiana outscored Cleveland 30-15 in that frame. Even though it was an awful quarter, Coach Lue believes that it can be a valuable learning experience. The Cavaliers did manage to break out of their funk on their own and started to play like they’re capable of playing to finish out the game.
2. Kevin Love can make game winning plays on defense.
Love has been criticized for his defense throughout his career, and rightfully so. Love has shown many times how he can be a liability on defense. However, on Thursday night he showed everyone that his defense is improving.
Love made two critical plays on the defensive end of the floor to help seal the victory. The first came when he knocked the ball away from Paul George forcing a jump ball in a one point game with under two minutes to play in the fourth. He followed that up with a block on George with less than a minute left in overtime.
The Cavaliers might not have won this game without those plays. Love has looked much better on offense the past few games and it’s starting to positively effect his defense.
3. Cleveland can get outscored in transition.
Going along with one of the previous points, the Cavaliers did not push the ball as well as we’ve seen them do under Lue. The Pacers outscored Cleveland 16-9 on fast break baskets. Much of that has to do with the Cavs turning the ball over and allowing Indiana to get out and run in transition.
4. Lue isn’t afraid to go away from the game plan.
The Cavs showed that they aren’t afraid to slow the pace of play down in crunch time. In overtime Cleveland didn’t push the tempo, but instead relied on the pick and roll from Irving and James. Coach Lue told reporters after the game that he liked the matchup they were getting when they went to the pick and roll. They stuck with that plan throughout overtime and it resulted in the win.
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Good coaches aren’t afraid to go away from their game plan when the situation calls for it. Coach Lue proved that he is willing to let the Cavs slow the pace of play down if he feels it’s the best option for the team.
The Cavs will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they travel to Charlotte on Wednesday night to take on the Hornets.
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