James makes history; Hood comes through
February has arguably been the best month of James’ career, as he capped it off averaging a triple-double over 11 games, the oldest player in NBA history to achieve the feat. His final stats for the span were 26.6 points, 10.4 assists and 10.3 rebounds in 37.1 minutes per game. James shot 55 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the perimeter, while the Cavs posted a 7-4 record.
“It is a first,” said James of the acccomplishment. “Played some good ball and the most consistent thing for me right now is I’m available. I’m on the floor for my teammates. They give me the room to go out and do what I need to do, to help as much as I can.”
Every time the Nets scored a basket – including a Russell three-pointer with three minutes left and five points from Allen Crabbe – James responded by facilitating the offense. He hit a five-foot jump shot to even the score at 111-111 before making a pair of layups to regain a 116-115 advantage with two minutes, one second left in the game.
“[James] gets better with time,” Lue said. “He’s had a great month. He’s really done a good job of just carrying the team. He’s stepped up, he’s put the team on his back, on his shoulders, especially with these new guys, just showing them the way. I think he’s giving those guys a lot of confidence by talking to them, being positive and it’s good for our young team going forward.”
The biggest moment of the tightly contested affair came courtesy of Hood, who found spacing in front of the Cleveland bench for a mid-range jumper and free throw to finish off a three-point play. The Cavaliers had a 123-121 lead, and held on the rest of the way.
“I was in the corner and the play kind of broke down, I just got the ball and [the defense] cut me off, I stepped back,” said Hood. “It felt good. It felt good just to get a (home) win.”
John Alfes has covered Cleveland sports since August of 2016. Follow him on Twitter @JohnAlfes for breaking news and in-depth coverage all season lon
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