The Cavs travelled to Sacramento to take on the Kings Wednesday night.
It was an ugly game, but the Cavs finished strong, as each member of the starting five made big plays in the final minutes of the game, and Cleveland pulled out the 120-111 victory.
Cleveland got off to a solid start, leading 28-25 after one, but the Kings owned the second quarter, outscoring the Cavs 35-26.
Sacramento would lead at the half 60-54.
The Kings opened up the second half on a 5-0 run, increasing their lead to 11 before Cleveland called timeout to regroup.
Cleveland would finally regain the lead with 4:28 to play in the third quarter, thanks to a fastbreak layup from LeBron James, who drew a foul, making the layup and would convert the three-point play at the free-throw line.
The Cavs finished off the third quarter on a good note, and Kyrie Irving knocked down a three at the buzzer to make it 89-84 in favor of Cleveland.
Sacramento climbed back and Cavs Head Coach Tyronn Lue was called for a technical foul for standing outside of the coaches’ area, giving the Kings a free throw to make it a one-point game.
DeMarcus Cousins would tie the game at 96, splitting a pair of free throws.
LeBron knocked down a big three-pointer and then Cousins was called for a technical foul with 7:24 to play, allowing the Cavs to lead 102-96.
Cousins committed another careless, pointless foul just two minutes later, prompting the Cavs to increase their lead to 109-100 with 4:42 to play.
Sacramento would respond by going on a 6-0 run and Cleveland would call a timeout with 3:27 to play.
Rondo would lay it up off the backboard to make it 109-108 with 2:58 to play, but Kevin Love drew a foul on the other end and hit two big free throws.
The Cavs made a big stop and Tristan Thompson grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession for Cleveland. Irving would find Love for a three-pointer, and Love was fouled while making the three, leading to a four-point play, as he hit the free-throw to make it 115-108.
J.R. Smith then hit a big three-pointer to remove all doubt and make it a ten-point game.
The Cavs would hold on to win 120-111.
LeBron scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out six assists.
Irving finished with a game-high 30 points.
Love put up 17 points and hauled in ten rebounds, hitting all seven free throw attempts.
Thompson was a monster on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. He also scored 18 points.
Smith scored 15 points, hitting three shots from beyond-the-arc.
Cousins scored 29 points for Sacramento, grabbing 11 rebounds.
With the win, Cleveland improves to 45-18 on the season. Next up, they play the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 10:30 PM. It will be LeBron’s last matchup versus Kobe Bryant.
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