The Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the Boston Celtics 46-40 at the half on Tuesday. Then the Cavaliers clamped down. They held the Celtics to 31 second half points and easily pulled away in the third quarter and down the stretch to win, 89-77.
2015 NBA scores: The Cavaliers will slow you down and destroy you
LeBron James and the Cavaliers are controlling pace, the Nuggets are rising and everything else from Tuesday in the NBA.
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
LeBron James had 24 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cavaliers, who are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 16-7 record. Kevin Love added 20 points and eight boards. They've won three in a row after dropping three straight and have given up only 84.3 points per game in those wins. The Cavaliers are winning with defense and pacing. They slowed things down against the Celtics, especially in the second half.
The Celtics had no answer on offense as they put up their lowest point total of the season. Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 17 points, but only two other Celtics scored in double figures.
The teams were evenly matched through the first two quarters. The Celtics were hitting their shots and had a six-point lead despite 14 points from James.
But the Cavaliers controlled the second half of the game. They went on a 12-0 run in the third quarter to take a 57-50 lead and they never looked back.
The Cavaliers dominated the Celtics in the second half because they controlled the pace. It wasn’t a new style for the Cavaliers -- they’ve been doing it all season.
Their defensive rating (the number of points given up per 100 possessions) is a middling 99.9 -- 11th best in the NBA. But because the Cavaliers slow things down -- they average 95.63 possessions per 48 minutes, which is the second slowest pace in the NBA -- they’re giving up just 96.7 points per game. That’s fourth-best in the league.
The Cavaliers have the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA (105), but their defense is special, too. And a lot of it has to do with the pace. The Cavaliers slow teams down, and it wreaks havoc on their opponents’ rhythm. The Celtics were out of sorts in the second half on Tuesday. They shot just 11-of-42 shooting from the field and 4-of-18 from deep. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, were taking their time and running their offense, scoring off dribble drives and dish outs late in the shot clock.
The Cavaliers would scoff at the seven seconds or less Phoenix Suns of the 2000s. For them, it's more like 17 seconds or more. The cavaliers take 20.1 percent of their shots with seven seconds or less left on the shot clock.
The Golden State Warriors, on the other hand, take 11.2 percent of their shots with seven seconds or less. (The San Antonio Spurs are more methodical than the Cavaliers, taking 22.1 percent of their shots with less than seven seconds on the shot clock.)
The Cavaliers use their possessions. They can because they have one of the best players in the league and they have a stingy defense. Kyrie Irving coming back may make things interesting for the Cavaliers. He's an offensive powerhouse, and the Cavaliers will be tempted to speed things up with him back in the lineup.
But they should be even more efficient once Irving is back. Their defense may dip a tad, but their offense will improve. The Cavaliers have proven they’re the team to beat in the East. If they’re going to hang with the likes of the Warriors and the Spurs, they must continue to control the pace.
2 other things we learned
The Denver Nuggets are dangerous.
After losing eight in a row, the Nuggets have won five of their last six games after taking care of the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100 on Tuesday. Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets shot 56 percent from the field. The Nuggets are clicking offensively with a balanced attack and hard play. Danilo Gallinari, Will Barton and Faried are leading the charge, and freeing other players step up. On Tuesday, it was Randy Foye, who had 19 points for the Nuggets off the bench.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are struggling. After an 8-8 start to the season, they’ve dropped seven of eight games. Their defense has been miserable, giving up at least 100 points in six consecutive games. The Nuggets’ playoff chances are soaring while the Timberwolves are quickly bowing out of the race.
The Houston Rockets still aren't trying.
It's a broken record at this point, but the Rockets have an effort issue. The Rockets lost for the second consecutive night -- this time to the Sacramento Kings -- and it once again came down to a lack of effort. The Kings had 24 turnovers through the first three quarters but were still up by eight points.
The Rockets looked disinterested. A James Harden defensive slip-up is routine. There were many to choose from, but this captures the Rockets' night:
(via @World_Wide_Wob)
Play of the night
Kobe Bryant was making it rain like the old days during the Los Angeles Lakers' dominating win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Bryant had 22 points and six assists on the night. He's taking a few less shots than he was earlier this season, and it's working. Bryant was 7-of-15 from the field and the Lakers looked like a competent basketball team. The Kobe Bryant retirement tour is starting to look fun again.
And for good measure he showed he can pass, too:
4 fun things
Scores
Cavaliers 89, Celtics 77 (Fear the Sword recap | Celtics Blog recap)
Nuggets 112, Timberwolves 100 (Denver Stiffs recap | Canis Hoopus recap)
Kings 107, Rockets 97 (The Dream Shake recap | Sactown Royalty recap)
Lakers 113, Bucks 95 (Silver Screen and Roll recap | Brew Hoop recap)
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