Cleveland Cavaliers: What we learned from a near-disaster victory over Orlando
If disappointing victories exist, this would be one of them. The Cleveland Cavaliers held on to win. 104-103 over the Orlando Magic after being up by 23 to the worst team in basketball at home.
This was a tale of two halves. The Cleveland Cavaliers looked unstoppable in the first half.
They put up 67 points while posting an effective field goal percentage of 60.5% with 19 assists. The second half was the exact opposite. They stopped moving the basketball and the results speak for themselves.
Cleveland put up just 37 points in the second half after scoring 36 in the first quarter alone. The Cavs finished the second half with just 3 assists and an effective field goal percentage of 33.8%.
Isaiah Thomas led the team in scoring and sealed the win by knocking down two clutch free throws to take the lead. He ended the game 21 points and 4 assists on 6 of 15 shooting.
Unfortunately, LeBron James’s shooting struggles continued. He put up just 16 points on 7 of 16 shooting with 5 boards, 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. Kevin Love also struggled to find his shot going just 3 of 10 from the field with 12 points and 11 boards.
The Cavs were a missed Elfrid Payton floater away from losing their fifth straight.
Here’s what we learned from the narrow victory.