The Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards played one of the most entertaining regular season games in recent memory.
Here are ten takeaways from Cleveland’s 140-135 victory.
1. LeBron James channeled his inner Tom Brady late in the game after missing a gimme layup on his previous possession, which would have given the Cavs the lead. Instead, he made up for it with a turnaround fadeaway three off the backboard. The pass from Kevin Love actually looked like a Hail Mary from a quarterback.
2. Speaking of Kevin Love, he scored 39 points, his second-highest total of the season. He was especially valuable in overtime, after LeBron James fouled out, and scored six of Cleveland’s 20 points in OT.
3. LeBron fouled out with 4:13 left in overtime. He would have played more than 46 minutes if he didn’t foul out. It’s not the typical way you’d like to see a superstar play in February, but unfortunately, these 40-plus minute performances are becoming typical.
4. Even for LeBron’s standards, his passing has been extraordinary of late. Lost in the shuffle of his ridiculous three-pointer and 13-point outburst in the fourth quarter, he also dished out a career-high 17 assists. He passed Lenny Wilkens to move into 13th all-time in assists.
5. Kyrie Irving, who had a sub-par four quarters, came to life in OT, scoring 11 points and knocking down a dagger from his sweet spot over Bradley Beal.
6. Kyle Korver played crucial minutes down the stretch, partly due to Iman Shumpert spraining his ankle. Hopefully Shumpert doesn’t miss much time, if any, but Korver has been valuable late in games a few times since his arrival in early January, and hit a clutch three in OT.
7. Tristan Thompson scored a season-high 22 points, hitting 10-of-13 shots from the field. He also grabbed 12 rebounds. Thompson’s performance was just another piece to the puzzle of guys stepping up when it was needed most. The entire Cavs’ supporting cast made big plays in this one.
8. It was Washington’s first home loss after winning 17 straight at the Verizon Center. The Wizards (30-21) currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference. Assuming it will come down to Toronto, Boston, and Washington fighting for those second and third seeds, whichever of those three ends up in fourth place will likely have to face the Cavs in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Keep an eye on the Wizards, as they’re showing they can hang with the best of them.
9. The back-and-forth battles between Kyrie Irving/LeBron James and John Wall/Bradley Beal were fun to watch. Beal scored 41. Wall finished with 22 points and 12 assists. But Kyrie continues to be one of the most clutch shooters in the NBA.
10. The Melo for Love conversation won’t die because of the outcomes of one, two, or several games. If LeBron is already leaning towards trading Love to acquire Carmelo Anthony, he’s probably gone through the pros and cons of each player in his head. We always praise LeBron for having a high basketball IQ. He probably knows what he’s doing. For what it’s worth, LeBron said the rumors are “trash.”
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