1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in loss to Lakers on Monday

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Darius Garland (left) and Lamar Stevens, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by David Richard-USA TODAY Sports) /

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was packed on Monday night to watch the hometown Cleveland Cavaliers take on a familiar face in LeBron James, who had plenty of his fans in attendance.

Cleveland fell behind 6-0 early but then stormed back to lead by as many as 14 points in the opening 12 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Wine and Gold connected on 52 percent of their shots in the first quarter and led by seven points.

However, the Cavaliers’ lead did not last long, as their defense took a turn for the worse in the 2nd quarter. Cleveland allowed the Lakers to score 39 points while shooting an unbelievable 71.4 percent from the floor.

While the Lakers seemingly could not miss a shot in the 2nd quarter, Cleveland’s offense cooled off, hitting only 10-of-25 from the floor, including just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. Despite the poor 2nd quarter, Cleveland trailed by just five points going into the half.

Cleveland was able to get back into the game in the 3rd quarter with a balanced scoring attack. Eight different players scored for the Wine and Gold, and as a team, they shot nearly 67 percent. The Lakers still managed to shoot over 50 percent in the 3rd quarter and trailed the Cavaliers by a single point going into the final quarter.

Cleveland’s defense, however, would falter in the 4th quarter, as the Lakers would shoot 65 percent as several of their makes came from great ball movement resulting in easy looks right near the rim. Overall in the final frame, LA outscored the Cavaliers by 12 points and for the game scored 131 points, which is the second-highest point total allowed by Cleveland this season.

Los Angeles was, of course, led by LeBron, who recorded a triple-double by scoring 38 points, dishing out 12 assists, and grabbing 11 rebounds. Backup point guard D.J. Augustin also burned the Cavaliers by going a perfect 6-of-6 from beyond the arc.

All-in-all, the Cavs fell short in one of their biggest games this season, and with the Eastern Conference playoff race coming down to the wire, every game is a meaningful one for the Wine and Gold.

Cleveland did get a great performance from one of their young stars despite the disappointing result, and that leads us into our stud of the game.