CLEVELAND: Twenty-three thoughts for the Cavs’ biggest lead of the night (23 points) in Wednesday’s 137-125 win over the Portland Trail Blazers…
1. On his way out of the locker room, one of the Cavs’ staffers tried handing Kevin Love the stat sheet from his historic 34-point first quarter as a thoughtful keepsake. Love had nowhere to carry it, however, so he left it on a chair and said he would get a copy another day after practice. “I can print out the second through fourth quarters instead if you want,” the staffer joked, poking fun at what was a rather dreary six points on 1 of 6 shooting for Love after the first quarter.
2. Love cracked up. “F--- you,” he said and walked down the long corridor and out of Quicken Loans Arena.
3. What seems like a rather innocuous moment actually illustrates quite well Love’s comfort in Cleveland, in the locker room and in this system. No longer is he guarded with the media or even his teammates. No longer is he answering questions about his fit, addressing the silliness over his absence from group photos or participating in the passive-aggressive jabs back and forth with LeBron James over MVP candidates and fit in/fit out tweets. All of it has been washed away by championship champagne.
4. Love enjoyed his first 40-point game as a member of the Cavs and set records along the way. His 34 points are the second-most in NBA history, behind only Klay Thompon’s 37-point outburst. His eight 3-pointers in the first quarter set a team record.
5. “I had a good rhythm, made my first couple shots,” Love said. “And it was on from there.”
6. From the time Tyronn Lue took over as head coach, one of his top priorities was finding ways to make Love more comfortable in the Cavs’ system. To that end, Lue acknowledged Wednesday that the first play call of every game this year has been a shot for Kevin Love in the post.
7. It hasn’t always worked out that way. In fact, Love has taken the first shot in only six of the first 13 games. But Lue listened to Love and is doing his best to get him going early.
8. James and Kyrie Irving have the ball in their hands most of the night and can get their shots whenever they want. Lue has recognized the importance of involving Love early. He spent most of his first season here shouting into the wilderness about how he has played his entire career getting inside touches early and then working his way out to the perimeter. But no matter how often he said it, no one ever listened outside of James once saying, “if he wants the ball in the post, he needs to go down there and call for it.” Lue has changed all of that.
9. “I didn’t do anything magical,” Lue said. “He’s playing great, he’s being aggressive when he catches the ball in the post, getting to the free throw line, a big post threat for us. So just try to get him the ball when he has matchups or just keep him involved, keep him engaged.”
10. Of course, no matter how much things, they still stay the same. After he made his first eight shots and scored 34 points in the first quarter, Love got only one shot in the second quarter. One. James found him for an open 3-pointer and Love missed it. That was it during his five minutes on the floor. He took just six shots the rest of the night, which was what prompted the joke from the staff member in the first place.
11. Love, however, is taking it in stride. It took a while, but he’s finally comfortable in his surroundings. He gave up apartment life and is a homeowner now. He loves his house and he has adjusted to Cleveland; his girlfriend even loves it here.
12. In the moment, he didn’t realize how close he was to Thompson’s NBA record. He missed an open 3 with 1:15 left in the quarter that ultimately would’ve allowed him to match it. He was denied one final shot at matching it when Kyrie Irving dribbled down and shot a contested jumper from the elbow when Love was open on the wing as the quarter expired.
13. Love probably didn’t realize how many shots he was getting, either. Love shot the ball 20 times Wednesday, a rarity on this team. That happened once during his first two regular seasons in Cleveland. The only other time it happened this year was the night James rested at Indiana. (It did happen twice last year, however, during the playoffs).
14. “When you’re a great player (you’re) always capable of doing that,” Lue said. “It’s just odd that it’s on this team because we have so many (scorers). To get 34 in a quarter on this team it says a lot.”
15. James assisted on six of Love’s eight 3-pointers in the first quarter and seven of his 11 shots overall. James is notorious for feeding hot shooters and noticed after Love’s fourth consecutive 3-pointer that he was releasing the ball without hesitating and catching a good rhythm.
16. “I went over and told him, ‘Whatever you’re doing, wherever you’re at right now, just stay right there. Stay even keel,’” James said. “’Whatever you’re thinking about right there, just stay there because we’re going to keep coming to you.’”
17. The 137 points is a new arena record for a regulation game, eradicating once and for all the 132 points the Warriors dropped on the Cavs in the Q last season. It’s the most points the Cavs have scored in any game in regulation since they scored 141 against Charlotte in 1992.
18. The 21 3-pointers are a franchise record for a regular season game; their 16 3-pointers set an NBA record for most in a half and the 46 points in the first quarter tied another team record.
19. Oh, and James had 31 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his 44th career triple-double.
20. James overtook Kyrie Irving for the team scoring lead, 23.8-23.7. This will be a race worth watching all season since James has led his team in scoring in each of his first 13 years in the league.
21. Love, meanwhile, increased his scoring average by 1.5 points thanks to the outburst. He’s now averaging 21.8.
22. Strange but true: Prior to his 40-point game Wednesday, Love’s previous scoring high with the Cavs was 34 points set last year in a win against Orlando …. on Nov. 23. Apparently Love really enjoys playing on Nov. 23.
23. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Enjoy the day with family and friends. Lue is actually bringing the players in for a morning practice Thursday, but it likely won’t last long. The Cavs host the Mavericks on Friday. Talk to you then.