With Kyrie Irving out of the lineup, Cleveland were lucky to escape with a comeback win. They had to turn on the defense late, as the Cavaliers outscored the Pelicans, 23 - 13, in the fourth quarter. Rebounding was the key for Cleveland, as they won that battle, 56 - 45. In addition, they dominated the bench scoring, as they got 44 bench points to New Orleans 19. The Cavaliers also dominated in the paint, scoring 40 paint points to the Pelicans 26. LeBron James carried the load for Cleveland, as he tallied 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Kevin Love was the only other starter with more than four points, as he totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds on 5 - of - 19 shooting. Richard Jefferson was a huge spark off the bench, totaling 12 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Davis and Buddy Hield tied the team - lead in scoring for New Orleans, dropping 20 points a piece. Davis also added 17 rebounds and three blocks to his tally, while going 10 - of - 27 from the field.
["TeamStat(G,'Cavaliers') has 19 Number of team assists ,has 23 Percentage of 3 points ,has 26 Points in 3rd quarter ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Pelicans') has 26 Number of team assists ,has 26 Percentage of 3 points ,has 13 Points in 3rd quarter ."]