Cavaliers ride on Love, LeBron in ot
LeBron James shrugs off the double team defense of Sindarius Thornwell and Wesley Johnson of the LA Clippers during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP
Cleveland near the top with 4th straight win
LOS ANGELES – LeBron James produced a 39-point masterclass as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to overhaul the Los Angeles Clippers in an overtime thriller on Friday.
James added 14 rebounds and six assists to his 39-point tally while Kevin Love grabbed 25 points to power the Cavs to a 118-113 overtime victory at the Quicken Loans Arena.
The win helped cement Cleveland’s climb in the Eastern Conference standings, with the 2016 NBA champions now at 9-7 after four straight wins.
But the Cavs did it the hard way, repeatedly allowing the Clippers to open up sizeable leads before reeling them in.
It was the second time this week the Cavs had been forced to dig themselves out of a hole after recovering from a 23-point deficit against the Knicks in New York.
“That’s how the game is being played for us at this point in the season,” said James.
“It’s good to know that we’re building character and building resiliency and you can do that with a new group then that definitely can help us in the long run, so we can’t say that we wish we wouldn’t do that, but it is what it is. That’s the way the game is being played and we got to adjust to it.”
The Clippers were unable to ram home their advantage after leading 92-82 with 8:51 left in the fourth and 101-93 with just under five minutes on the clock.
The Clippers had also led by 81-66 with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter only to see the lead evaporate after James’ commanding performance.
Dwyane Wade was the only other Cleveland player to crack double digits, with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Los Angeles meanwhile spread its scoring more evenly, with Blake Griffin leading with 23 and DeAndre Jordan adding 20. Four other Clippers players also reached double figures.
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