Cavs: Looking back at 3 most entertaining games of 2019-20 thus far

#3: January 9 – A 115-112 overtime W over the Detroit Pistons

The third-best Cavs game in terms of entertainment to this point, to me, was when the Wine and Gold came back and got a W in a 115-112 overtime game at the Detroit Pistons on January 9.

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In that one, the Cavs in the first half really had no answer for Andre Drummond inside, who is of course now on the Cavaliers, courtesy of a trade near the 2020 deadline.

In this one, Drummond ended up having 28 points on 13-24 from the field and 23 rebounds, per ESPN, and his constant presence on the glass on both ends, along with Derrick Rose, who had 27 points also on 13-of-24 shooting, had it especially rolling in the first half.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s Bruce Brown, who had 17 points, eight assists, four steals and two blocks, and the Pistons’ Tony Snell, who had 11 points and made some quality ball-swings and had three assists, also played well throughout much of this one.

Detroit would go into the break feeling good about themselves, as they closed the half with a 61-50 lead, and it again seemed like the Cavaliers were in bad shape.

Sexton and Garland would ultimately combine for 39 points, and Sexton would have six rebounds, two steals and two blocks, whereas Garland was making things happen more and more in the second half, as he had seven assists in the game and 20 points.

In the third quarter, though, the Wine and Gold got right back into it, and took back the momentum which they seemingly didn’t give back the rest of the way. Cleveland had a 31-point third quarter, led by Tristan Thompson, who had 12 points then, and Darius Garland, who had 10 points in that period, as noted by Basketball Reference.

The Cavs would eventually be down just two going into the fourth, and the likes of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland came up big then in key moments, especially in pick-and-roll, in addition to Tristan Thompson, obviously, in much of this one.

Garland didn’t score in that period, but he dish out three assists, and TT, as was hit on, continued to shine in his career night, as he got the better of Drummond, en route to 10 big points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a big block in the fourth.

Additionally, in order to send the game to overtime, where the Cavs slugged it out 13-10 and won, Cleveland got a huge stop by Alfonzo McKinnie, who was then on a 10-day deal and has since signed a four-year deal, though most of the years on that are non-guaranteed.

Anyhow, in this one, the Cavs ended up getting the W after five clutch points from Kevin Love in OT, and after, Tristan Thompson, who had a career-high with 35 points, was mobbed by his teammates, as was then shown by the Cavs Twitter account.

This was a really nice way for the Cavs to start a then-six-game road trip, after prior head coach John Beilein‘s accidental “thugs” comment in a team film session and Love’s on-floor/on-bench issues shortly before that, in particular. Beilein has since stepped down as Cleveland’s head coach and been re-assigned to an unspecified role with the team, though, which was clearly for the best, and Bickerstaff has taken over as the head coach and has done a really solid job.

Still, what stuck from this one was TT’s outstanding play for much of this one against a really tough matchup in Drummond, and this was a very much-needed victory for the Wine and Gold at the time.

With it appearing that this could very well be the expiring Thompson’s closing time with the Cavs, whether or not the season does eventually resume, one thing’s for certain: if this is it the near-end with TT being a Cav, it was quite a last hurrah.

In terms of the second-most entertaining game thus far when it comes to the Cavaliers this season, a comeback fans are very familiar with comes to mind.