For the entire first half, it looked like Miami really didn’t care about their win streak, as the wounded, underdog Cavaliers raced out to a 55-34 lead and LeBron James had just six points. They were down by as much as 27 in the third, when the King finally went to work, finishing with a triple-double (25 PTS, 12 REB, 10 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK) and lifting his team to a 24th consecutive victory. We told you Wayne Ellington (20 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) was a good fantasy pickup and Tristan Thompson (18 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL) is also worth owning, even if Cleveland doesn’t get this inspired every night.
Other Wednesday Results
OKC @ MEM: This one lived up to high expectations. Two excellent teams battled until the final second of overtime, when Marc Gasol (14 PTS, 15 REB, 2 BLK) tipped in a miss for the winning bucket. Mike Conley (24 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL) was fantastic, playing 48 minutes and holding Russell Westbrook (20 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL) to 7-for-20 shooting as the Thunder made just 36% of their shots against that tough Memphis defense. Kevin Durant (32 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST) led all scorers and Kevin Martin added 17 off the bench for the visitors. The Grizzlies got a double-double from Zach Randolph (15 PTS, 18 REB) and sixth man Jerryd Bayless (20 PTS) hit four 3-pointers, none bigger than his tying shot in the final seconds of regulation.
TOR @ CHA: Playing for a bad team in a small market, Gerald Henderson (21 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK) doesn’t get the respect he deserves, in either the real world or the fantasy version. Byron Mullens (25 PTS, 5 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK) should also be picked up if he was dropped; his mysterious slump appears to be over. Ben Gordon added 16 off the bench and Kemba Walker (14 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB, 4 STL) did a little of everything. The Raptors lacked intensity, though Rudy Gay (25 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK) had nice numbers and Kyle Lowry (18 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) showed improvement. If you’re in a keeper league, remember that Jonas Valanciunas (18 PTS, 8 REB, 2 BLK) is only 20 years old and will get even better.
ORL @ NYK: Things aren’t quite back to normal, but Carmelo Anthony (21 PTS, 8 REB) is back and the Knicks won. J.R. Smith (22 PTS, 7 REB) was sharp off the bench and when Tyson Chandler (neck) returns, temporary starting C Kenyon Martin (11 PTS, 3 REB) will add some muscle to the second unit. Nikola Vucevic (flu) didn’t play for Orlando, which used rookie forward Maurice Harkless (11 PTS, 6 REB, 3 STL) as a 6’8” center. Seldom-used freshman Kyle O’Quinn (12 PTS, 14 REB, 4 AST) had his best game since leading 15-seed Norfolk State to a massive upset over #2 Missouri in last year’s NCAA tourney, a performance that inspired many of us to say “Norfolking way!”