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.
["PlayerStat(G,'Anthony Davis') has 3 Assists ,has 27 Blocks ,has 10 Field goals attempted ,has 20 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Buddy Hield') has 20 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'LeBron James') has 6 Assists ,has 26 Blocks ,has 7 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kevin Love') has 19 Assists ,has 5 Blocks ,has 12 Field goals attempted ,has 11 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Richard Jefferson') has 12 Assists ,has 12 Blocks ."]