CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cavaliers had every excuse available Monday night, but like much of this season, they simply found a way to win.
Without their All-Star worthy point guard Darius Garland and coming on the second night of a back-to-back that followed a disappointing loss to the lowly Pistons, it would’ve been easy to say “get ‘em in Houston” but that’s just not how J.B. Bickerstaff’s bunch is built.
“We’re built to win ugly,” Bickerstaff told his team at halftime with his team trailing 39-38 before they rallied in the second half for a grueling 93-90 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
And yes, Monday night’s game was as ugly as they come.
Cleveland was outrebounded by 14 – 51-37, outscored in the paint 46-44, and led for only 7:54, but they still finished on top when the final horn sounded.
“This was a very important win,” Cedi Osman, who started at point guard for Garland, said. “We got it and that's all that matters.”
Garland needed the night off to rest a sore lower back.
“Obviously we missed how much he can create and the pressure he puts on defenses, but I thought Goody and Cedi in particular did a really good job of getting downhill and playing with that force and then we were able to close the game with Kevin Love,” Bickerstaff said.
Osman did his best to steady a disjointed offense by handing out a career-high 12 assists even though he shot a dismal 3 for 16 from the field and scored 7 points.
“Everybody trusted in me and they gave me the ball,” Osman said. “I really do appreciate that and I think that I didn’t disappoint in that way in terms of involving teammates.”
Brandon Goodwin came out of nowhere and erupted for a game-high 21 points off the bench. He shot 8 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3, in nearly 27 minutes.
“He was awesome,” Bickerstaff said. “We were trying to manufacture buckets, trying to find leverage in the paint and creating triggers and I thought he did a great job of just being aggressive offensively, bringing people to the paint and then making the right decision whether it was a score or passing. And then on the defensive end of the floor I thought he was phenomenal as well.”
Goodwin started the second half for Dean Wade as Bickerstaff tried to shake things up to find some tempo and it paid off.
“I was just trying to make plays, but I think we all did a good job at the end of playing together,” Goodwin said.
“It’s just about taking advantage of the opportunity That’s all you can do. Put in the work whether it’s with the team or by yourself, whatever it may be, I’m just trying to stay focused and stay ready for the opportunity.”
Because of his limited role, Goodwin asked to go play with the Charge of the G-League over the weekend just to get some floor time. The extra work paid off in a big way Monday night.
“We needed every single one of those buckets tonight,” forward Kevin Love said. “He was huge for us. The bench was great tonight but he was really the person in the whole lineup that stepped up and was big for us and you have to give credit to him. He was awesome.”
Love had 15 points and 11 rebounds – 10 of those came on the defensive end of the floor.
“For us to win like that, especially on a back-to-back after losing a very tough one, a uncharacteristic one [Sunday] night in Detroit, it definitely speaks volumes especially when DG didn’t play and other guys had to step up and play huge for us,” Love said.
In the final minute, the crowd rose to their feet and did all they could to will the home team to victory.
Lamar Stevens yanked down the biggest rebound of the night with 0.4 on the clock when he wrestled the ball away after Jonas Valanciunas missed a driving layup, was fouled, then calmly went to the other end of the floor and knocked home the first free throw before missing the second, which ran out the clock to seal win No. 31.
It was Stevens’ fourth rebound to go with 11 points and a pair of assists.
For much of the night, neither team could hit the ocean standing on the beach from beyond the arc. They combined to chuck brick after brick after brick, miss after miss after miss. Cleveland shot 9 of 31 from deep and the Pelicans 6 of 30, but Love and Isaac Okoro, who scored 14, came through with big hits from downtown to help pull the Cavs close late.
Jarrett Allen finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Team effort.
“It was ugly,” Love said.
Or as Bickerstaff would call it: Cavaliers basketball.
