Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards Match Player Stats On Nov 03, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 3, 2017

WASHINGTON -- LeBron James had the second-highest scoring performance of his career with 57 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 130-122 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

James sank 23 of 34 shots including two 3-pointers, made all nine of his free throw attempts and had 11rebounds with seven assists in a dominant performance befitting a four-time league Most Valuable Player.

Cleveland (4-5) shot 56.1 percent from the field and hit 12 of 27 3-pointers.

Neither team entered the anticipated matchup between Eastern Conference heavyweights playing like true contenders largely because of defensive woes.

Neither side solved the issue, but the Cavaliers (4-5) took greater advantage as James finished within four of his career-high set March 3, 2014, against Charlotte.

Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Cavaliers, whose slide included three double-digit losses.

Bradley Beal scored 36 points for the Wizards (4-4), who have lost four of five. John Wall had 13 points and 15 assists as Washington shot 53.6 percent.

Neither side showed much improvement from their previous games in the first meeting in Washington since an epic 140-135 overtime contest in February eventually won by the Cavaliers.

Going toe-to-toe with the then defending NBA champions helped elevate optimism on the Wizards. During an ESPN interview earlier on Friday, Wall and Beal reiterated a belief that Cleveland purposefully slid out of the top seed in the playoffs last season to avoid facing Washington in the early rounds.

James played like he was someone who watched the interview intently.

He scored 24 points and Cleveland shot 65.8 percent from the field in the first half for a 74-66 lead.

The Cavaliers methodically increased the margin to 17 at 92-75 on Kyle Korver's 3-pointer with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter. James had 38 points after three quarters with the Cavaliers leading 104-93.

Washington pulled within 120-113 with 3:34 left only for James to sink a 3-pointer.

Cleveland led 42-36 after the first quarter as both teams combined to shoot 31 of 43 from the field.

NOTES: The Cavaliers played their first game without C Tristan Thompson, who suffered a left calf strain in Wednesday's 124-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers, and third consecutive sans guard Iman Shumpert (knee soreness). ... Starting with the second quarter of Wednesday's loss to Phoenix, Washington allowed at least 32 points in six consecutive quarters. The Wizards deployed their standard starting forward tandem for the first time all season. F Markieff Morris made his season debut following hernia surgery on Sept. 22 and after serving a one-game suspension against Phoenix. Morris had two points in 16 minutes. Otto Porter Jr. had 15 points after sitting out Wednesday's game due to illness.