Cleveland's Cedi Osman scored five points in a span of 17 seconds late in the fourth quarter, and rookie Collin Sexton followed with a deep 3-pointer to lift the host Cavaliers to a 112-107 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
Kevin Love scored a season-high 32 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Love went 9 of 15 from the field and 6 of 9 from 3-point range, sparking a fourth-quarter run after the Grizzlies had taken the lead.
Sexton was steady, scoring 20 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out five assists and making two steals.
Jonas Valanciunas, whose availability for the game was in doubt due to personal reasons, scored 25 points and recorded 11 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies.
Mike Conley finished with 18 points, and Joakim Noah had 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Memphis.
After the Grizzlies took a 103-101 lead on a 3-pointer by Valanciunas, Osman hit a three to put the Cavs up for good. Osman followed with a dunk, and Sexton's step-back 3-pointer sealed Cleveland's second win in a row while sending the Grizzlies to their fourth straight loss.
The Cavaliers shot 48 percent and outrebounded the Grizzlies by a whopping 21-5 margin on their way to a 37-24 lead after one period.
Cleveland scored the first five of the second as the lead swelled to 18 on Jordan Clarkson's breakaway lay in. But the Grizzlies went on an 18-6 run to cut the deficit to six at 48-42 midway through the period.
The Cavaliers did not fold, with Osman and Love having an answer every time the Grizzlies crept closer. Ante Zizic's free throws and a jumper by Brandon Knight pushed the Cavaliers' lead back to 63-50.
Cleveland led 63-56 at halftime.
Love hit three 3-pointers, his third giving Cleveland a 76-62 advantage in the third. After a Sexton 3-pointer made it 79-64, Memphis went on a 14-1 run, with Noah scoring five points during the streak.
The Grizzlies then wiped out the deficit and tied the game on Bruno Caboclo's layup. Caboclo followed with a second-chance put-back as Memphis took an 84-82 lead into the fourth period.
--Field Level Media
Memphis | Cleveland | |
Jonas Valanciunas 25 | Scoring | Kevin Love 32 |
Joakim Noah 4 | Assists | Matthew Dellavedova 6 |
Jonas Valanciunas 11 | Rebounds | Kevin Love 12 |
Mike Conley 8 | Free Throws Made | Kevin Love 8 |
Mike Conley 3 | Steals | Collin Sexton 2 |
Joakim Noah 2 | Blocks | Marquese Chriss 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Memphis | 107 | 44.4 | 5-25 | 22-28 | 18 | 43 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
Cleveland | 112 | 44.3 | 16-42 | 18-23 | 25 | 52 | 3 | 6 | 19 |