After what happened in San Antonio on Thursday night, no one would have blamed the Cavaliers if they lost Friday night in Houston.
The Cavs (27-10) rolled east along Interstate 10 to meet up with a red-hot Rockets (21-19) team after a tough loss to the Spurs the night before. Despite early struggles, Cleveland was able to regain its form and come away with a 91-77 win.
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Cleveland initially looked like a team that had just been in a heavyweight bout. It was down 13-4 with just over nine minutes remaining in the first quarter.
By the start of the second quarter, the Cavs had righted the ship and were leading 23-21. They outscored the Rockets 45-30 over the second and third quarters to put the game out of reach.
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Looking at the stats, it wasn’t that impressive of a game for the Cavs. They shot 39.1 percent from the field and hit just eight of 35 attempts from the 3-point line. Only Kyrie Irving (23 points), LeBron James (19 points) and Tristan Thompson (4-for-4 shooting) shot the ball with any consistency. But as they say, there are no bad wins.
The Cavs were presented with a challenge, and they met it. Next up are the Warriors in Cleveland on Monday, Needless to say, they’ll need a more well-rounded effort to beat the defending champs.
Highlights
This will go down as just two of Paul Millsap's 23 points for the night, but they were two that won't be forgotten soon. The Bucks, however, got the last laugh as they outlasted the Hawks 108-101 in overtime. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 28 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks for the Bucks.
The Bulls lost a tough one at home to the Mavericks 83-77, but at least Derrick Rose looked like his old self on this slick give-and-go play with Pau Gasol.
Hassan Whiteside had a complete night in the box score (19 points, 17 rebounds, 11 blocks), and he even made it onto a poster courtesy of Nuggets rookie Emmanuel Mudiay, who slammed one on the Heat forward and let him know about it. The Heat, however, came away with a 98-95 win.
Studs of the Night
Charlotte’s starting backcourt of Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum scored 25 each, but Ryan Anderson’s 32-point, eight-rebound performance helped the Pelicans come away with a 109-107 win over the Hornets on Friday night.
Damian Lillard played like the All-Star that he is, scoring 33 points and adding 10 assists as the Trail Blazers beat the Nets 116-104.
Andrew Wiggins outscored his fellow Minnesota starters 25-21. Needless to say, the Timberwolves came up on the short end of a 113-93 score against the Thunder.
Duds of the Night
Friday was a bad night for the Bulls. Not only did they shoot horribly from the field (36 percent) and the 3-point line (10.5 percent), they also lost Joakim Noah to a nasty shoulder separation.
Tweet of the Night
The Wizards earned their fourth win in a row, beating the Pacers 118-104. Besides, is there ever a bad time to turn up with Geoffrey?
#Wizards Win Again! Make it 4 in a row! #WizPacers pic.twitter.com/1p8iFNTEKE
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 16, 2016
Looking ahead (all times Eastern)
Celtics (21-19) at Wizards (19-19), 7:30 p.m.: Both teams come into Saturday’s game on winning streaks; the Celtics have back-to-back victories while the Wizards are riding a four-game wave. Boston's Jae Crowder will be a tough matchup for the Wiz; he’s averaging 18.6 points per game, more than double his career average.
Knicks (20-21) at Grizzlies (22-19), 8 p.m.: The Grizzlies are coming off a dramatic 103-101 win over the Pistons on Thursday. They haven’t won more than two games in a row since late November and could use a win over the Knicks to continue capitalizing on a six-game home stand that ends Monday against New Orleans. The Knicks are on a roll, winning five of their last seven, but they could very well be without rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis, who is questionable with a right shoulder injury.