BEYOND THE BOX SCORE CAVALIERS NOTES With tonight’s win, the Cavaliers improved to 6-0 at home against the Western Conference this season. Dating back to January 21, 2015, the Cavs are 38-6 in their home games against the West. Cleveland has won 13 consecutive games at The Q, which is their longest home streak since winning 18 straight during the 2014-15 season (1/19/15-4/5/15). Over those last 13 games, the Cavaliers are averaging 114.3 points (.506 FG%, .411 3FG%) and 25.9 assists. The Cavaliers shot 43-83 (.518) from the field, marking the fifth consecutive home game the Wine & Gold have shot .500 or better. Cleveland improved to 12-0 at home this season when tying or outshooting their opponent from the field. Cleveland poured in 127 points in tonight’s win, marking their second-highest point total this season (130 at WAS, 11/3/17). The Wine & Gold scored 120+ for the sixth time this season (6-0 in such contests). Cleveland outscored Portland 74-54 in the second half. The Cavaliers knocked down 13 three-pointers in tonight’s win, extending their franchise record streak of consecutive games knocking down at least 10 three-pointers to 26 (since Nov. 7). After going 13-32 (.406) from deep, Cleveland has now shot .400 or better from distance in six straight home games and holds a 10-0 record at the Q this season when shooting .400 or better. The Cavaliers bench outscored Portland’s 61-23. It’s the second time Cleveland scored 60+ bench points this season (64 vs. ATL, 11/5/17). Cleveland bested the Trail Blazers in fast break points (18-3), while committing fewer turnovers (10-15) and dishing out more assists (28-25). The Cavs improved to 11-0 at The Q when tying or outscoring their opponent in fast break points, as well as 11-1 at home when tying or recording fewer turnovers than their opponent. The Cavs scored 25 points off of Portland’s turnovers. LeBron James registered a team-high 24 points on 10-17 (.588) shooting, a game-high eight assists, six rebounds, a game-high four steals and one block in 34 minutes. During their 13-game winning streak at home, James is averaging 29.5 points on .574 shooting, 9.9 assists, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 37.5 minutes. Kevin Love recorded 19 points on 5-7 (.714) shooting, including a 4-5 (.800) mark from distance, seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 26 minutes of action. At home this season, Love is averaging 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds in 30.3 minutes. Jae Crowder registered his 16th game this season in double figures, contributing 17 points on 6-12 (.500) shooting, including a 4-8 (.500) mark from deep, three assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block in 24 minutes. The Cavaliers are now 8-0 at home this season when Crowder posts 10+ points. Tonight was his highest scoring game at The Q this season. In his first career game as a Cavalier, Isaiah Thomas tallied a season-high 17 points on 6-12 (.500) shooting and three assists in 19 minutes off the bench. Dwyane Wade posted 15 points on 6-11 (.545) shooting, a team-high tying eight rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes as a reserve. Wade has scored in double-digits in 19 games this season. Jeff Green added 10 points, notching season highs in free throws made (10) and attempted (12). Green logged double figures for the 19th time this season.
TRAIL BLAZERS NOTES Damian Lillard posted a game-high 25 points on 8-15 (.533) shooting, including a 6-9 (.667) mark from beyond the arc, a team-high six assists and one steal in 33 minutes. Jusuf Nurkic added 23 points on 10-12 (.833) shooting, seven rebounds, four assists and a team-high two steals in 29 minutes.
CAVALIERS VS. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS January 2, 2018 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS POSTGAME QUOTES HEAD COACH TYRONN LUE (On Isaiah Thomas’ play tonight): “I thought he was great. First game out, to have 17 points in 18 minutes, it just looked easy to him. But once we get a chance to get the play calls downs and run a lot of stuff on the fly, it’s going to be great. I just love his ability to attack, get into the paint and shoot the ball. He had D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) on a couple of backdoor cuts. It was just good to see him out there.” (On if he can tell when Isaiah Thomas is out of rhythm): “In practice during the scrimmages, you can tell at times but tonight it just looked real easy. He played under control and got where he wanted to get on the floor. There’s going to be ups and downs these first couple of weeks. It’s not going to be like tonight all the time, but it was great just seeing the fans and how they welcomed him here. That’s what our fans do so that was great to see.” (On Tristan Thompson playing alongside Isaiah Thomas): “It’s big. With Tristan being able to roll when he sets a screen for I.T. (Isaiah Thomas), the most important thing is coming off the pick and roll, guys have to go over the top of the screen. (When I.T.) raises to shoot, bigs are trying to contest his shot and that gives T-Top (Tristan Thompson) a free run at the rim to get those offensive rebounds. That’s what makes it great for T-Top. Also, (I.T.) can make the pocket pass and have someone chase over the top. The big has to be occupied, so they can’t block Tristan out. It’s been great for him.” (On LeBron James playing off the ball with Isaiah Thomas): “It’s going to be a good balance. I just think when LeBron has the ball or Isaiah has the ball, they just play off each other. That’s what I like. I like to be able to have two ball handlers in that first unit that can create and score the basketball and also can play off of Kevin (Love). Tonight, Kevin was great being sick and coming in and playing 25 minutes and having 19 points. It was a total team effort and the bench was great again tonight.” LEBRON JAMES (On Isaiah Thomas’ debut tonight): “I didn’t give it any expectation. One thing I knew that was going to happen for sure was when he was coming in. I knew that these fans were going to give him the ovation that he had been waiting on and that he deserved, so that was the only thing that I expected. When you have a long absence like that, you just want to see one go in. You want to take a fall or want someone to hit you right where you have been injured and if you can respond to that, then you feel really good about the rest of the game and all of that happened for him tonight.” (On what Isaiah can contribute to the team): “He’s very good, very dynamic, can shoot the ball, can get into the lane and can pass the ball. He is going to create so much for our team…With him not being able to play, I said, ‘IT – just be you. You don’t have to try to fit in. Just be you. Go out on the floor. You got a look, we want you to take those looks. Two on the ball, you find somebody. Just be you and let the game speak for itself.’ But I think he did better than everybody expected – probably not himself, because we all know how confident he is – but he did better than a lot of us expected.” (On what he likes most about Isaiah Thomas): “What I like most about him is that he has a chip on his shoulder for life. It’s just who he is. When a guy has a chip on his shoulder for life, he’s always going to work hard. He’s always going to give it his all, he’s not going to disappoint you. Basketball has missed shots and things of that nature, and we’re not worried about that. You make turnovers and all that, but that’s not what I’m saying. A guy like that is always going to put in the work, and when you put in the work, the game is always going to give back to you.” ISAIAH THOMAS (On the night as a whole): “It was a special night for me. I haven’t played in seven months, so to be able to be out there and compete against another team was special, and obviously to get the win was even bigger. But just to be able to compete and be out there and be in an arena setting – it was a great feeling for myself.” (On when he felt like he found his rhythm tonight): “Probably in the second half, a little bit. I hit a couple shots and felt like myself for the most part. But I’m still a little rusty. It’s still going to take some time to get my full rhythm back, but my teammates put me in a position to make plays and have the floor spaced and they wanted me to attack. So I tried to do the best I could in the minutes that I got.” (On the fan reception tonight): “It was a special moment. I haven’t played in a game, (but with their reaction) you would think I was here for a few years and playing and battling in The Finals with this team. It was special for even my family to be here and my wife and kids to see that. That’s genuine love right there, and I appreciate the fans patiently waiting and giving me the love they did tonight.” KEVIN LOVE (On Isaiah Thomas’ impact tonight): “He just demands so much attention. You could see it out there right away. We were into it, the crowd was into it and excited to have him back. He’s just a professional scorer. He can really score that ball.” (On the fourth quarter defense tonight): “I think our bench was great for us tonight. They really picked us up after a little bit of a slow start. We didn’t put everything together in that first unit, but they were able to pick us up throughout the entire game and the fourth quarter was no different. So they were able to keep Portland at a distance, and that carried through throughout the entire game.”
CAVALIERS VS. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS January 2, 2018 PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS POSTGAME QUOTES HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS (On the game tonight): “I was proud of our effort. Obviously, it was a close game going into the fourth quarter, just got away from us. I thought that their bench was the difference. Their bench was outstanding. (Dwyane) Wade and Isaiah Thomas, look at their plus minus and their scoring. They really made a difference.” (On the takeaways from tonight’s game): “We did a good job. I thought Damian (Lillard) was really good finding the roll man and (Jusuf) Nurkic finished around the basket the best he has all season. Evan (Turner) had a really good game. I thought we had good performances but like I said their bench, they just keep coming in waves. Basically, they have a starting lineup coming off the bench.” (On Damian Lillard’s first game back from injury): “I didn’t see any ill effects of the injury. Like I said, his passing on the pick and roll, they really made him a priority and we stayed in because of his ability to get it out of the trap.” EVAN TURNER (On the challenges the Cavs create for opponents): “It was a great game. Offensively and defensively, I thought we did a great job. Like I said, the Cavs are unbelievable. They ride the wave, they know how to play and they make tough shots. They have some great lineups as well.” (On Isaiah Thomas’ return): “He did great. I don’t know how much he’s been playing prior to but he was efficient obviously. He came back and almost threw up almost 20. I think I.T. is very smart in the regard that he knows how to play. He knows his spots and he works really hard. With the right type of plays and coaching, it lets him be who he is. He is going to thrive.” JUSUF NURKIC (On their ball movement tonight): “That’s how we can play, we know that. We have a great team and we can play way better than before. We kind of showed that potential of what we can do. We need it for 48 minutes, especially against a really good team.”
