POSTGAME: Cavs Cool off Heat 114-84

The Cavs won their third game in a row with a 114-84 victory over the Miami Heat in snowy Cleveland, OH. After a rough stretch last week, the team seems to have things turned around for the better.

Some scribbles from tonight’s win:

• The Cavs improved to 10-1 when Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and LeBron James combine to score 70 or more points. Tonight, they finished with 78. Love was the game’s high scorer with 28, James totaled 27, and Irving kept his streak of scoring 20 or more points in a game alive with 23 points. As the numbers suggest the Cavs aren’t going to lose very many games when all three of them are scoring at this clip.
• LeBron James moved into ninth place on the all-time scoring list with his 27 points this evening. He passed Elvin Hayes (27,313 points) with a driving layup in the fourth quarter. James likely would not have been in the game this late into it if it were not for the opportunity to move up on the scoring list.
• Kevin Love is playing like an all-star and certainly deserves a trip to New Orleans later this season. Love had another game like what fans had grown accustomed to seeing him have while he was still buried in Minnesota. He had 28 points and 15 rebounds. Continued efforts like that will surely get him to the bayou later this season.
• JR Smith missed the game against Miami with a sore knee. He is expected to play Saturday night against Charlotte. Love was listed as questionable but played through a sore back and Channing Frye has been excused from the team this weekend for personal reasons.
• DeAndre Liggins started in place of the injured Smith. Liggins held his own again scoring five points in 25 minutes and posting a +14. He continues to look more and more comfortable on the floor which could be a key factor moving forward.
• The Cavs wore pretty slick ‘80s throwbacks. The orange jerseys were definitely a good look for the team. My sole gripe with them is that they were missing the gold ‘championship tag’ on the back of the neckline denoting that the Cavs have won a championship. This was a new edition to all their uniforms for this season following what happened last June.
• The orange throwback uniforms will be worn again Saturday against Charlotte.