The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their loss to the Detroit Pistons just two days ago with a 115-112 overtime victory.
This game was not pretty. It was downright ugly at times. At one point the Cavaliers found themselves down 13 to the Pistons. Things appeared to be getting out of hand. Cleveland fought back to tie things up at the end of regulation. Two late field goals from Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson put the game away to give the Cavs a 115-112 win in overtime.
Tristan Thompson was the star of the game. Thompson finished with a career-high 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.Thompson went 15-20 from the field and made five of six free throw attempts. The Cavs center was able to round out his night with three assists, three blocks, and one steal. Tristan Thompson is clearly the player of the game.
The Cavaliers got a great contribution from rookie point guard Darius Garland. Garland scored 20 points, making eight of 14 field goal attempts, including both shots from deep. Garland led Cleveland with seven assists.
Alfonzo McKinnie was signed to a 10-day contract earlier in the day and contributed with three critical steals. Two of McKinnie’s three steals came early in the 4th quarter. The third steal came with 22.7 seconds left in the game with Cleveland clinging to a three point lead. McKinnie was able to take the ball away from Derrick Rose. This led to Tristan Thompson’s game sealing dunk.
Cleveland got a bit of revenge on Detroit Thursday. The Pistons were able to come back and defeat the Cavaliers Tuesday in Cleveland. This time Cleveland returned the favor.
