Official Cleveland Cavaliers Thread - Spoilers

Recap of today's loss to Houston, from cavs.com

Wrap-Up – In the same way opposing players and fans know that it’s just a matter time until Kyrie Irving goes off, James Harden seemed to be biding his time until he let loose – scoring 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and propelling the Rockets past the Cavaliers, 112-104, on Saturday night at The Q.

Kyrie still managed to lead all scorers with 30 points, going 10-for-24 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the stripe, adding six assists and four steals but committing a game-high eight turnovers in the process – including three in the fourth quarter. Irving’s draft classmate, Tristan Thompson, doubled-up for the seventh time in his last nine games – finishing with 14 points and 16 boards. Alonzo Gee added 18 points and six boards before fouling out and Tyler Zeller chipped in with a dozen points. Dion Waiters notched 13 off the bench.
The Cavaliers held the high-octane Rockets to just 20 first-quarter points, but Houston tallied 34 points in the second and fourth quarters. Kevin McHale’s squad also got 42 points off their bench, led by Greg Smith, who went 5-for-5 from the floor and grabbed 11 boards.

Turning Point – In a game that featured 13 lead changes, it was a quick barrage late in the fourth that gave Houston some breathing room down the stretch. Trailing by just five, 97-92, with just over four minutes to play, Harden canned a three-pointer to put the Rockets up eight. Kyrie sank a pair of free throws, but on the in-bounds, Jeremy Lin went coast-to-coast and was fouled on the layup, converting the three-point play and putting Houston up nine, 103-94. The Cavs closed in, but couldn’t close the gap in the closing moments.

Game Ball – Tristan Thompson – The sophomore forward from Texas has been outstanding in the span since Anderson Varejao went down with a knee injury. He kept the hits coming on Saturday, snagging eight of his career-high 16 boards off the offensive glass. Thompson was 5-of-11 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the stripe, adding a pair of assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

By the Numbers – .909 … Cavaliers’ free throw percentage (60-66) in their last three games at The Q.

Quotable – Rockets guard Jeremy Lin, on trying to contain Kyrie Irving …

“He’s a heckuva player. I tried to make it difficult for him, but he’s one heckuva player and he’s tough to stop.”

Up Next – The Cavaliers have just one more home game – on Wednesday when Atlanta returns to The Q – before departing for a five-game, nine-day roadie that begins in Denver on Friday night.
 
Cavs waive F, Samardo Samuels. This will open up more minutes for Kevin Jones and maybe Luke Walton. Walton isn't as bad as everyone thinks, he has good basketball iQ and makes good passes
 
Cavs waive F, Samardo Samuels. This will open up more minutes for Kevin Jones and maybe Luke Walton. Walton isn't as bad as everyone thinks, he has good basketball iQ and makes good passes

He's not bad at all, he just looks annoying :p
 
The good news: Kyrie Irving just posted the first consecutive 30-point games of his NBA life and Tristan Thompson continues to be a regular double-double guy while Andy Varejao heals. The bad news: Cleveland leads the league with an excruciating seven losses by three points or less.
 
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