LeBron dominates with 41 points in Cavs comeback over Celtics
The 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers remain a work in progress, the sort of group that can lose to a playoff afterthought even while looking like an offensive juggernaut for a stretch of a few minutes. The stars haven’t figured out each other’s tendencies, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James haven’t yet worked out a comfortable balance of ballhandling duties, and the defense looks in need of a great deal of help. It could take months or maybe even more than a season before Cleveland looks like a championship-caliber team.
What the Cavs are finding out (again), though, is that having LeBron on the court helps cover up a lot of weaknesses. They discovered it again in Friday’s road game against the Boston Celtics. The hosts closed the third quarter on a 17-4 run to head into the final period with a 101-84 advantage. That lead reached 19 points 26 seconds into the fourth.
Then the Cavs took over. Irving started the comeback with 10 straight points, but LeBron finished it off with seven points on three consecutive possessions from the 2:01 to 1:10 marks to turn a five-point deficit into a two-point lead. James also knocked the game-winning free-throw with 36 seconds left (although he split the pair) to give his team the come-from-behind 122-121 victory. Here’s a highlight reel devoted to his 41-point night:
The game itself was a mixed bag for the Cavs, particularly at the defensive end. The Celtics shot 54.5 percent from the field as six players scored in double figures. On the other hand, Cleveland was much stingier in crunch time and allowed only seven points in the final seven minutes.
The offense looks capable of reaching an elite level fairly soon. James was terrific with 41 points on 16-of-26 shooting and seven assists, while Irving seems to be balancing his responsibilities better and finished with 27 points (8-of-16 FG) and five assists. As a whole, the Cavs dished out 22 assists to 11 turnovers, far superior ratios to their worst performances in these first few weeks. The potential for greatness is clearly there.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
