Cavaliers win with defense, escape with 100-99 victory over Hornets; three takeaways

3. Spreading the love on offense

In the first half, James and J.R. Smith went a combined 0-of-4 from deep. Them finding their shooting rhythm in the third quarter, however, led to the Cavs outscoring the Hornets 29-25 in the frame and gaining an 83-82 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

James found his groove early, hitting two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the half to match his first-half point total. Smith got going in the middle of the quarter, hitting three big 3s of his own after scoring just four points in the first half.

On top of that, the Cavs also had a balanced scoring attack with six players in double figures, marking the fourth time this season that has happened.

To go along with James’ 27, Smith had 16, Kyle Korver had 13, Jae Crowder had 12, Kevin Love added 11 and Dwyane Wade rounded out scorers in double-digits with 10.

The Cavs’ bench combined for 31 points while Charlotte’s bench had just 19.

“Our bench has been great throughout this win streak,” James said. “They’ve given us a lot of energy, a lot of effort, they put the ball in the hole, they’re consistent and they’re defending. That’s part of the reason why we’ve been able to win some games.”

LeBron says the bench has been great, and playing with a lot of energy and effort. pic.twitter.com/QvWUvTelon

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) November 25, 2017

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