CLEVELAND: It felt like playing the third game in three nights to LeBron James, but the Cavaliers managed to pass the test despite nearly blowing another big lead.
James scored 31 points and passed for 12 assists and J.R. Smith matched his season high with 27 points in the Cavs’ 112-103 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday afternoon — and they did it without Kyrie Irving, who sat out with a sprained right ankle.
The Cavs played back-to-back games that concluded with an overtime victory Friday night at the Atlanta Hawks. They didn’t return home until after 3 a.m. early Saturday morning, then had to be back at the arena for Sunday’s afternoon tip against a Hornets team that entered as the third seed in the East.
“We’ve played against some really good teams that’s been hot as of late,” James said. “For us to even have the energy the way we played today, and go out and execute the way we did, it’s exceptional basketball.”
The Cavs’ erratic play seems to be evening out at the right time. They again squandered most of a 21-point lead during Sunday’s second half, but they nevertheless have won four of their past five and conclude the season with four of their remaining five games against opponents either fighting for playoff seeding or their playoff lives.
They took control in the fourth quarter thanks to defensive breakdowns by the Hornets on three consecutive possessions. The Cavs led by 21 in the first half, but the Hornets had the deficit down to four in the fourth quarter when the defense unraveled.
Smith’s 3-pointer — one of his six on the day — cooled the Hornets’ momentum and extended the Cavs’ lead to 99-92. James followed with a basket off a cut to the rim and Kevin Love made a 3-pointer on the next two possessions and the lead was back out to 104-94 before Hornets coach Steve Clifford could call a timeout to fix the defense.
“Game on the line, three straight blown coverages, all basic stuff,” Clifford said.
“Gotta make those plays, gotta make it hard on them. Can’t make those mistakes. They’re so good that they’re going to make plays anyway. They’re going to score when there’s good defense and they play better offense. We can’t give up those blown coverages.”
The Cavs passed for 34 assists Sunday and made 16 3-pointers, just shy of their season high of 18. Smith and Love, who had 25 points and nine rebounds, combined for six of the 3-pointers.
Love has shown signs recently of pulling out of a shooting funk that has plagued him since the All-Star break. He is shooting 45-percent from 3-point range in his past five games.
“I mentioned a week or two ago just picking my spots before we head into the [postseason],” Love said. “I feel like I’m doing that.”
The Cavs have built big leads in recent games against the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and now the Hornets. They lost to the Rockets, needed overtime to beat the Hawks and allowed the Hornets to get within four. Still, James believes the Cavs are ready for the postseason.
“If it started tomorrow,” he said, “we’d be ready to go.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.
