CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has long been known as an offensive player, one that stands out on the perimeter and shoots three-pointers with more frequency than he posts up on the low block and uses his 6-foot-10 frame.
However, when the Cavaliers (35-12) needed Love to step on defense in a 111-106 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse Monday night, he more than answered the bell, as he stole two passes, blocked a pair of shots and corralled eight defensive rebounds in helping to extend their winning streak to five games.
“I think we’re dialing in a little more and we’re having fun playing the game,” Love said. “There was a little bit of a drought there in the third quarter that allowed them to get back into the game, but we continued to keep playing, press the ball up the floor, and I think that helps us on the defensive end as well, lock in and have fun playing the game.”
Although not known for his defense, Love’s effort on that side of the floor against the Pacers was a welcomed addition to a starting lineup where three other players, small forward LeBron James, point guard Kyrie Irving and shooting guard J.R. Smith, are more highly touted for their offensive abilities.
“He gives us everything,” James said. “I thought it was a cheap call on the last one. I didn’t think Lavoy Allen was actually even going for the offensive rebound, but he stuck with it. He got a late block on Paul George, dove on the ball when Swish stripped Paul George in the corner by our bench, and he was really, really good on both sides.”
Coach Tyronn Lue added, “Awesome. I talked to Kevin after the game and said, ‘Sorry I didn’t get come to you as much as I wanted to,’ but he had two great stops at the end, the steal from Monta (Ellis), getting on the floor, winning the jump ball, the blocked shot with the rebound. He said, ‘Man, I’m great.’ He was engaged, and that was great for us.”
Lue said he would not “admit that” one of his players is not as good on defense as they are on offense, and instead, would rather have his charges work hard to make plays happen.
“You’ve just got to play hard,” Lue said. “When you play hard, you cover up a lot of mistakes. If you ease into it and you don’t play hard, then you can’t, but when the team plays hard, you can cover for a lot of people’s mistakes. That’s what we were able to do, buckle down in the fourth quarter and overtime, and we were able to get the win.
“I thought we got it back. There were moments where we got down on ourselves. I said, ‘Let’s win the tough games. Let’s be the tougher team. Let’s win it.’ Guys came together. We were able to pull together, and we won the game.”
