Cavaliers defeat Nuggets 99-87
The Cleveland Cavaliers went into Denver and came away with a surprising 99-87 win over the Nuggets.
When the clock hit 0.0 there was a double-digit differential on the scoreboard and somehow the team that won was the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs were in control of this game from pretty much the start, trailing by only 1 point early in the contest with only a couple of times where Denver tied the game. Wins against superior teams, they happen. However wins against those teams where the Cavs control from the beginning, not that common.
There is one specific area that pops out when evaluating the shooting performance of both teams. Both the Cavaliers and Nuggets were not proficient from three. Cleveland went 7-25 while Denver missed 29 of their 38 attempts from deep.
The player of the game for the Cavaliers is obvious, Jarrett Allen. Allen finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds (five offensive) in 37 minutes. Allen was not the only Cleveland big man to make an impact in this game as Kevin Love made some major contributions off the bench. In his 21 minutes of play Love made went 8-13 (1-4 3PT) and made all five free throws en route to scoring 22 points and grabbing six rebounds. The combination of Allen and Love really made a difference for the Cavaliers.
Darius Garland made his return to the starting lineup for Cleveland and was assist on seven baskets while scoring nine points. With Garland back that meant Ricky Rubio was relegated back to the bench. Like Garland, Rubio was more of a factor passing the ball as he finished with eight assists and seven points.
