LeBron James Hits 30K Points, but LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs Beat Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't have asked for better conditions to snap out of a slump Tuesday night.
For starters, the San Antonio Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard (quadriceps), Pau Gasol (wrist sprain), Rudy Gay (right heel bursitis) and Manu Ginobili (bruised thigh). On top of that, they hadn't eclipsed 90 points in either of their last two outings.
And yet, the defending Eastern Conference champions weren't able to take advantage.
Fresh off a 148-124 drubbing at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday afternoon, the Cavaliers coughed up a terrific opportunity to find their footing and fell to the Spurs 114-102 at AT&T Center.
The Cavaliers (27-19) have now lost 10 of their last 13 games overall and six straight nationally televised contests, according to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon.
On the other hand, the Spurs (31-18) halted a two-game losing skid and are now tied for third in the Western Conference standings with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
San Antonio's victorious effort was buoyed by five double-figure scorers and a collective 50 percent shooting from the field—tallies that spoiled LeBron James' historic evening after he became the seventh player in league history to join the 30,000-point club with a long jumper toward the end of the first quarter:
James finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in an impressive individual showing. However, the Cavaliers defense proved listless once again as the Spurs found clean driving lanes and open spot-up jumpers to be plentiful.
LaMarcus Aldridge—who was named an All-Star reserve before the game—burned Cleveland's frontcourt for 30 points and eight boards, while newly appointed starting point guard Dejounte Murray delivered 19 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven steals.
"He's fearless. He's not impressed. He really sets the pace for us," head coach Gregg Popovich said of Murray, according to the San Antonio Express-News' Tom Orsborn. "He's a fine defender. He's learning how to play the game and doing a fine job."
Tony Parker added 14 points and six assists off the bench, and he shredded the Cavaliers' lackluster pick-and-roll schematics with easy pull-up jumpers from the elbows.
The Cavaliers could have kept pace if they were firing on all cylinders offensively, but they shot 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from three. Isaiah Thomas finished with 14 points (3-of-9 shooting), Kevin Love managed 10 points and 11 rebounds, and JR Smith went scoreless in 29 minutes.
For a team that was looking to rebound after reportedly holding an "emotional" meeting on Monday, according to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, that production didn't cut it.
Cleveland will now have two days off to reflect on its missed chance and prepare for a home tilt Friday versus the Indiana Pacers. Head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters after the loss that he will make a change to the lineup prior the Central Division clash, although he opted against disclosing specifics, per Vardon.
The Spurs, meanwhile, will cap off a back-to-back set Wednesday night with a road tilt against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
