Although a horrendous third quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers won their season opener. But, this game was all about the gruesome injury of Gordon Hayward.
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 102-99 behind LeBron James 29 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Coming into Tuesday, we all thought the storyline of the night would end up being how either LeBron James or Kyrie Irving outperformed the other. As a matter of fact, James’ huge stat line was one of the last things fans remembered tonight.
Tonight was all about Gordon Hayward and his gruesome injury, that, if you really want to watch, can be seen in tweet-form here. The injury is assumed to send Hayward out for the season, and, therefore, make the Cleveland Cavaliers the East’s only true contender. Here at King James Gospel, we hope for a speedy and full recovery for Gordon Hayward.
As for the game, the Cleveland Cavaliers, following Hayward’s injury, took over. They led by 18 at one point during the third quarter, but due to scoring just 18 points, on 32% from the field in the third, they ended the third up just two points. They managed to play most of the fourth trailing by less than five. As the clock ticked down, King James took over, and the Cavaliers eventually won by three.
The Cavaliers, as a whole, played decently well. Derrick Rose looked explosive and had some nice transition buckets. Rose ended the game with 14 points. Jae Crowder showed his prolific slashing ability on his way to 11 points. The new Cav and former superstar Dwyane Wade also showed his skill set with multiple veteran moves including drawing a foul on a pump fake: a move he has been known for throughout his career. Wade has two key back-to-back blocks in the fourth quarter. As for the King, James was his explosive and dominant self that we have grown used to. With a couple of terrific dunks, James gave the fans quite the show in the opener.
For Boston, their youth did show at times. Tatum had a rough start in his first NBA game. Both Tatum and Brown struggled in the first half but grew up and excelled in the second half. The two young C’s combined for 39 points. Marcus Smart, in Hayward’s absence, might be the man to step up. He put up a nice line of 12 points, nine rebounds, and three assists en route to several difficult, game-changing plays. For Kyrie, the normal Kyrie Irving that the Cavaliers’ fans were privileged to see for three straight seasons was in full effect tonight. He ended the game with 22 points and 10 assists as he made his impact felt throughout the entirety of the game.
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As we all expected, the Cavaliers have areas that they can work on, but in the end, the Cavaliers won. More from this game will be posted in the morning, so be sure to check back in!