The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 90 - 82, at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday. Cleveland were expected to win this game rather easily, but it took a late run to escape with an important victory. In fact, the Cavaliers outscored the Pelicans, 23 - 13, in the fourth quarter to cap off their comeback win. There were seven ties and 15 lead changes in total, with neither team leading by more than 10 points. Both squads really struggled shooting, as the Cavaliers hit 38 percent of their shots, while New Orleans shot just 36 percent from the field. Rebounding was the biggest key for the Cavaliers, winning that battle, 56 - 45. Three-point shooting kept the Pelicans hanging around, as Cleveland went just 6 - of - 31 from long distance, to New Orleans' 11 of - 26. The Cavaliers bench outscored the Pelicans bench, 44 - 19, as well. The Pelicans (14 - 22) had a tough task here in Cleveland and they nearly pulled out an impressive road win. Anthony Davis once again led the team, as he accumulated 20 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks on 10 - of - 27 shooting. Buddy Hield tied that team - lead in scoring, as he dropped 20 points of his own, going 4 - of - 6 from three - point range. Jrue Holiday ran the offense at ease, collecting 11 points, four rebounds, 13 assists and three steals. The Pelicans will return to action on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers (26 - 7) had to play this game without Kyrie Irving, but they let their other two studs take care of business. LeBron James carried the load, as he led the team with 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Kevin Love recorded a double - double, totaling 12 points and 11 rebounds on 5 - of - 19 shooting. The other three starters combined for just eight points, as they had three players come off the bench to drop at least 12 points. Richard Jefferson was the most valuable bench player, as he accrued 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cleveland will host the Chicago Bulls for their next game on Thursday.
["TeamStat(G,'Cavaliers') has 38 Number of team assists ,has 7 Percentage of field goals ,has 90 Losses ,has 23 Total points ,has 11 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 26 Points in 4th quarter ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Pelicans') has 26 Number of team assists ,has 36 Percentage of field goals ,has 22 Losses ,has 82 Total points ,has 26 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 13 Points in 4th quarter ,has 14 Turnovers ."]