In the most impressive road win by any team this season, LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers on the path to decimating the Washington Wizards 127-89 as they climb another step in the Eastern conference, remaining the hottest team in the NBA over the last five weeks.
James needed only 25 minutes to score 28 points, followed by Kyrie Irving with 25 points and J.R. Smith, still surprising everyone with his maturity and rather selective decision making when it comes to his shots, adding 15. The Wizards fell to fifth in the East, getting nothing from Marcin Gortat and Paul Pierce. Shooting 1-of-16 from beyond the arc and turning the ball over 17 times didn’t tell the whole story of just how bad the Wizards were.
Pierce, scoring 9 points, has these big nights once in a while against LeBron James; games in which he forgets how old he is and how tired his body is and plays like in the 00’s, when he was one of the best players in the league. But with James in prime condition, like he was during the conference semifinals almost a year ago, Pierce has nothing to do or show in retaliation. The Cavaliers scored over 60 points in both halves, while the Wizards grew more desperate and weak as the clock ticked backwards.
A 38 point win on the road is a new season high for any team. It’s also the worst home loss for the Wizards in 40 years, while the Cavaliers, shooting over 51% from the field, had their second best scoring output of the season, while LeBron James had his second best +/- of the season, finishing with a +30. With so many good news and positive numbers, the news of Kevin Love embarrassing himself in a dunk attempt can be forgotten quickly.