Cavs Top 3: Kevin Love carries team through fourth quarter

Kevin Love secured a Cleveland Cavaliers win with his fourth-quarter play.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a fourth-quarter comeback cemented by the play of veteran big-man Kevin Love. Love stepped up for the ailing Cavs, who were down Darius Garland and Lauri Markkanen from their starting rotation, and helped cement the win with his fourth-quarter play, putting up 10 of his 17 points.

To fill in for Garland was Cedi Osman, who showed very good passing abilities, even if his increased workload hampered his shooting abilities. Osman finished with 12 assists, helping the narrative that he could be a point forward for the second unit. The hindrance to that idea is that he needs to be able to score with the same ability that he passes.

The Cavs needed all the help they could get from guys like Love and Osman, as rookie phenom Evan Mobley had a rough game, and Markkanen’s backup, Dean Wade, was 0-5 from the floor; all from three.

The team forced bad shots at times but this is a resilient playoff team, and still found a way to win even though they were down four of their best players, including Ricky Rubio and Collin Sexton, who are both done for the year.

The Cavs won 93-90 and outscored the Pelicans 33-24 in the fourth quarter alone. The Cavs are now 31-20 on the year, while the Pelicans fall to 18-32.

Cleveland Cavaliers mount comeback behind Kevin Love to secure the win.

Cavs Top 3

1. Jarrett Allen
2. Brandon Goodwin
3. Kevin Love

After a couple of iffy games, Jarrett Allen is back on the post-game Top 3, this time getting the first point of the game. He had a solid effort, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds while finishing the game with two blocks. Considering Evan Mobley had a rough outing, it was good to see Allen carry the workload down low.

With the Cavs down their three top guards, seeing Brandon Goodwin come through when he was needed most was a sigh of relief. He finished with 21 points on 8-11 shooting. He finished with the second-highest box+/- of the team, with a +6. He’s not a reliable option game in and game out, but it’s good to see he can occasionally step up for the Cavs, that’s why he got the two points for the game.

Kevin Love gets the three-pointer of the game due to his 10-point, fourth-quarter performance. The Cavs were down Darius Garland and Lauri Markkanen against a game Pelicans squad. The Cavs were down four of their best players (including Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio), yet were still able to keep the game close and close the gap to get the victory, mostly due to Love dropping 17 points and 11 rebounds on New Orleans and dominating the fourth quarter. He finished with a game-high box+/- of +17 as well. When Love is on, he’s still a guy who can carry a squad.

Yearly Standing:

1. Darius Garland (55 points)
2. Jarrett Allen (51 points
3. Kevin Love (44)
4. (*Tie*) Lauri Markkanen/ Ricky Rubio (32points)
5. Evan Mobley (30 points)
6. Cedi Osman (27 points)
7. Isaac Okoro (8 points)
8. Dean Wade (6 Points)
9. Lamar Stevens (4 points)
10. Rajon Rondo (3 points)
11. Brandon Goodwin (2 points)
12. Dylan Windler (1 point)