On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers began the West Coast part of their road trip with a matinee game against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.
However, the Cavaliers, not the Lakers, struggled in the opening quarter. Cleveland would shoot just 8-21 (38%), while Los Angeles shot 15-24 (63%) in the first 12 minutes.
The silver lining for Cleveland was that they were a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line in the first quarter, and they only trailed by six points.
Cleveland again had a subpar shooting percentage in the 2nd quarter (38%) but cashed in on 10-12 from the foul line, limiting Los Angeles to 45% shooting. Going into the half, Cleveland appeared fortunate to only trail by six points.
The message from head coach J.B. Bickerstaff resonated with the Cavaliers as they came out in the 2nd half looking like a different team, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Cleveland held LA to 8-21 (38%) in the 3rd quarter, only allowing 16 points. On the offensive end of the floor, the Cavaliers had a balanced scoring attack and outscored the Lakers by 13 points.
Cleveland’s stellar defensive effort carried over into the 4th quarter as they would hold LA to just 7-20 (35%) shooting and 20 points. Overall for the 2nd half, the Cavaliers defense stifled the Lakers as they were just 15-41 (37%) in the 2nd half, and the Cavaliers defense forced eight second-half turnovers.
On the other hand, the Cavs offense in the final 24 minutes was much more effective, shooting 50% and Jarrett Allen, who missed much of the first half with foul trouble, led all Cleveland players with 16 second half points.
Like several other Cavalier wins this early season, this win over the Lakers was primarily due to their second half improvements after struggling early on in the game. Cleveland has a quick turnaround as they will stay in Los Angeles and face the Clippers on Monday, with both teams on the second leg of a back-to-back.
As for the star of this game, it goes to more than one player.