LeBron James has high praise for coach David Blatt

Cleveland forward Tristan Thompson, playing in his 297th straight game, made two free throws to tie the score at 66 with 4:00 left in the third, but the Knicks ended the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to take a 72-66 cushion. Executing four complete quarters has been a rarity.

25 & 11 – Kevin Love played a marvelous game, scoring a season-high 25 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 31 minutes.

Cleveland’s effort level slipped for stretches in the second half, but the result was never in real danger.

Instead, they’re already in a huddle with coach David Blatt wedged in the middle going over the game plan.

As per wkyc.com, James also said after their previous overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks “I think it comes from within, just taking an onus and taking ownership, and it’s not always about being Ironman”. Thompson was forced into the starting lineup with Mozgov out with a shoulder injury. “This is not how you, as a coach, design it. But I did like seeing the toughness that we had to reveal in the fourth quarter”. ‘What? Are you kidding me? That’s essentially all you need to know. And he is that kind of guy, too. There’s no quit in that guy at all.

They weren’t true games of 1-on-1 in the sense that only one dribble was allowed per possession, thus rendering James’ significant size advantage moot as he couldn’t simply back Irving down with his dribble and post him up.

It won’t get any easier for them as they have back-to-back games against teams who have a record above.500. Jahlil Okafor scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Noel finished with 10 points. “Things aren’t being reported the right way”, Smith said Saturday.

“Did he tell you my comeback?” We have the mental toughness to push through our limits.

“In general what really, really defines him as a player is his desire to win championships”, Blatt said.

For much of the night, Philadelphia was in control. Mayo have all missed games. “But I had to keep the streak alive and be able to compete and play with my teammates. That’s what it’s about”.

You can see the entire scene in this video. Jeff Teague was forced to play more than anticipated and said his left ankle was tight.

That rift in approach to the game between LeBron and the Cavs – as a whole – came to a head Saturday night. Justin (Holiday) drives to the basket, gets hit in the face clearly and they should know better. If it wasn’t broken, I was going to play…

It’s understandable James wants his team to remain focused in the beginning of a long season as prohibitive favorites in the East, but he has to be pleased with where Cleveland is overall to date.

His answer was fitting.