Yesterday afternoon The Cleveland Cavaliers who are second in the Eastern Conference with a record of what was 7-1 at the time took on the LeBron-led Los Angeles Lakers. Cleveland went into the matchup on a 7 game-winning streak. The Lakers on the other hand had a record of 2-6 and sat at the 14th seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers came out firing in the first half vs the Cavaliers leading by 13 points at one point, after a great halftime speech by Cavaliers’ head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff the Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run on the Lakers after being down only 6 at the half.
Cavs Hold On To Steal The Win
The Cavaliers would finish strong and hold off a late Lakers onslaught and secure the win with a final score of 114-100. This boosted the Cavaliers’ winning streak to eight straight and their record to 8-1 while LeBron and his Lakers fell to 2-7 on the year. Fans may remember last season’s All-Star game in Cleveland where LeBron anointed himself Cleveland’s third all-star behind Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland who were both in the middle of breakout seasons.
At the time it seemed likely LeBron would return to Cleveland and actually be their third all-star but he signed an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers and we all see how that is going currently.
Now the Cavaliers are a force to be reckoned with in the NBA and the days of needing LeBron James to carry them to the playoffs are over. Now The Cavs have their own all-star trio with the addition of super-star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Nothing But Kind Words
LeBron had nothing but praise for the Cavaliers after they handed him a big loss by saying “They did a great job in the offseason of picking up a big-time player,” James said of the Cavs, who trounced the Lakers 114-100. “I think we saw last year what kind of team they could become. Then the injuries happen and they end up slipping and having to play in the play-in.”
“We know what happened there. But they have a really good team, a great coach, a well-balanced team, and a bunch of kids on their team that seems like they just want to play ball. I’m looking at their roster and don’t see too many guys all over social media, showing off that they’ve got this and they’ve got that. Just a bunch of guys that come to work and just want to play ball. It’s probably a joy for a coach and coaching staff, just knowing you have a bunch of kids that want to come in and play ball and a grandpa (Kevin Love) that looks over everybody.” according to Cleveland.com.