The year 2016 was a good one for the Cavs, but Monday was a turning of the page for the wine and gold. The Cavaliers opened 2017 with a 90-82 victory over Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans at Quicken Loans Arena.
It was the second straight game the Cavaliers were without their second-leading scorer in Kyrie Irving and also the second straight game that Jordan McRae started in his place. After scoring 20 points in 31 minutes on New Year’s Eve, McRae struggled against the Pelicans, scoring only 4 points in 16 minutes.
For the Cavaliers, the real story was play of the likes of Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder. Jefferson notched his first double-double in a Cavalier uniform, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Felder added 12 points, 8 of which came in the game’s final quarter as the Cavaliers overtook the Hornets and held off their rally down the stretch. The likes of Jefferson, Felder, and Channing Frye helped the Cavaliers’ reserves outscore the Pelicans’ reserve by a 44-19 margin.
The Cavs overcame a slow shooting start, as their first field goal game at the 8:17 mark of the first quarter when Kevin Love put back a missed LeBron James layup. Throughout the first quarter, the Cavaliers were very sluggish and sloppy with the basketball. It was the Cavaliers’ poorest shooting first quarter in nearly six years, as they shot only 23% on their way to a 22-15 deficit after the opening frame of 2017.
The second quarter was a different story. On the quarter’s first possession, the Cavaliers went to Kevin Love in the mid-post of the left side and Love did the rest, banking in a nifty seventeen-footer. The next three possession featured Kay Felder sandwiching a Channing Frye three with two strong takes to the hoop, which tied the score at 22. In all, the Cavaliers started the quarter on a 9-0 and traded baskets with the Hornets the rest of the half. The Cavaliers followed up their dismal 1st quarter by scoring 29 in the second, taking a 44-43 lead into halftime.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, the third quarter was much like the first, as the Cavaliers struggled to score. Near the end of the third quarter, Coach Ty Lue inserted James Jones into the game. Jones sparked the Cavs by drilling a three-pointer and then hitting LeBron James cutting to the basket for an easy layup.
Defensively, the Cavaliers were superb when it came to guarding Anthony Davis. In pick and roll situations–the place Davis does his most damage–the Cavaliers committed to sending an extra defender Davis’ way in order to prevent any catch-and-shoot opportunities. Davis was mostly limited to back-to-the-basket and face-up opportunities. In the first half, Davis was only able to contribute 12 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Davis finished with 20 points for the Pelicans, but it took him 27 shots to put up that number.
The defense against Davis–the NBA’s second-leading scorer at 29.2 points per game–was the reason for the Cavaliers’ victory.
Felder’s play was also a bright spot for the Cavaliers. Felder was optioned to the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, last week, scoring 33 points in his Charge debut. Perhaps that performance was what sparked the rookie out of Oakland University. Since being recalled, Felder has scored 12.5 points per game.
Other notes:
- With 37.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Richard Jefferson hit his 1000th career three-pointer. For his 16-season career, Jefferson is a 38% three-point shooter, but is only shooting less than 30% this season.
- The Cavaliers held the Pelicans to only 13 points in the 4th quarter, which was their best defensive quarter of the season.
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