CLEVELAND -- Already with point guard Kyrie Irving still on the shelf because of his recovery from surgery to repair a fractured kneecap he suffered last June, the Cleveland Cavaliers went into Thursday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder without the services of fellow guards Mo Williams (right thumb strain) and Iman Shumpert (right groin injury).
But rather than using the injuries as an excuse, the Cavaliers (17-7) dug deep and fought back from a pair of double-digit deficits to earn a 104-100 win over the Thunder (17-9) in front of 20,562 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
"We didn't make excuses. We didn't look for any breaks," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "Each time we went down eight, 10 points, we never let them get away from us, and I thought that perhaps the last time that we came back from the eight or 10 points, we sort of put some doubt in their mind because they had us a few times and we didn't break.
"Coming back at the end of the third quarter and coming out well in the beginning of the fourth was significant, emotionally and mentally, in terms of how the game went. That, to me, was the difference."
Cavaliers small forward LeBron James added, "Every game is the biggest win for us. We're a team that has to get better and continue to get better. We're young, we're inexperienced. Obviously, we've had one year, last year, but we're still inexperienced as far as playing against many teams. That team's been together for years, and we've just got to continue, each game, each film session, each shoot-around, to get better. There's no biggest win of the season. Every win, every day is a win for us."
The short-handed Cavaliers entered the fourth quarter down by four points, but led by James, they stormed back and took a 10-point lead, which paced them on the way to the victory over the Thunder.
James finished with a game-high 33 points on 12-of-27 shooting, including a two-of-five mark from three-point range. Despite six turnovers, James added 11 assists and nine rebounds in finishing off the near triple-double.
"I've got to do whatever it takes to help our team win, and us being short-handed tonight, I knew I was going to have to pick it up in a lot of facets of the game, but we got contributions from everybody tonight," James said. "Everybody played tonight. The bench was phenomenal, Tristan, J.C. (Jared Cunningham) once again, R.J. Everybody who came in and played, they did phenomenal."
Blatt added, "I thought LeBron was just fabulous, doing so many different things on the floor, drawing as much contact and as much attention as he does and still make plays. I know he's a tough guy to officiate, but I think he's dealing with a lot under the basket and he's still coming through for us, making plays, scoring the ball, passing the ball, rebounding the ball. To play without three significant guards, you've got to have a guy like LeBron in order to be a team like Oke City. That's the best way I could put it, and he did it once again."
In addition to James' production, the Cavaliers got double-digit point efforts from reserve center Tristan Thompson (14), small forward Richard Jefferson (13), guards Matthew Dellavedova (11) and J.R. Smith (11) and power forward Kevin Love (11).
Like James, Dellavedova and Thompson each finished off double-doubles, as Dellavedova handed out 10 assists and Thompson corralled 15 rebounds, 11 of which came on the offensive end of the floor.
"We talk about the importance of 'next man up,' or perhaps, of the next man giving us a little bit more," Blatt said. "We saw Richard do that tonight. You saw Jared do that tonight, and obviously, Tristan gave even more than the usual, and that's what you've got to do in a situation like this. Don't make excuses. The next guy up gives you a little bit more, and compete, compete to win regardless of the circumstances."
James added, "We've just been playing ball. Our motto is 'Next man up.' There's no excuses around here. Whoever's in the lineup, guys are ready to go. Delly's been playing great. Until Mo go hurt, he has been, and the young fella, J.C., has been playing great at the guard spot too, so like I said, we want to be full, but that's not our mindset. When it happens, we've still got to go out and play the game. We don't worry about it too much.
"You just try to keep attacking, keep working your habits and it gets frustrating sometimes because I'm a guy who attacks the paint a lot. I don't shoot many jumpers. I sometimes don't get the benefit of the calls, but that's okay. I've got to continue to push the envelope. I've got to continue to be positive, continue to work our habits, work our game, and that's what I tried to do tonight."
