Cavaliers get 13th straight win with clutch performances for James, Korver; three takeaways

2. The Fourth Korver

And speaking of Mr. Fourth Korver…

Once again Korver provided a much needed spark for the Cavs in the final frame. As Cleveland was down 78-73 to open the fourth, Korver rattled off three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to turn the game around and give the Cavs an 82-79 lead.

Korver finished with 15 points, including 10 in the final 12 minutes. Lue said he wanted his sharp-shooter to get going so badly, they were drawing up plays for him during timeouts two at a time. Ultimately, the planning worked and the rest of the team followed suit.

“I think it probably helped,” Korver said when asked if his shots helped give the Cavs a lift. “We didn’t have a lot of energy tonight for some reason. Those kinds of plays tend to pick up the team a little bit. And then we gotta get it to the end.”

Sometimes during the long NBA season, a lack of energy is at times inexpicable. In this instance, with the Cavs in the middle of a win streak, it was even more so. But Korver’s performance down the stretch provided a major righting of the ship.

“You’re gonna have games like that in an 82-game season where you’re gonna feel like you’re in a rut and you can’t get out of it,” James said. “And a guy like Kyle, who’s never standing still, can help you guys get out of it and help us get out of it, which he did. Bang, bang, bang to start that fourth quarter, got everybody going.”

LeBron talks Korver’s ability to get the team out of a rut with his shooting. Says Korver “never stops moving” pic.twitter.com/wWPLfn2JdB

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) December 7, 2017

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