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Cavaliers 91, Grizzlies 83 (OT)
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CLEVELAND — Guard Kyrie Irving fired in a game-high 28 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers earned a 91-83 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Irving sealed the Cavaliers’ second consecutive win with four free throws in the last 30 seconds.
Cleveland (18-33) outscored the Grizzlies 13-5 in overtime while improving to 5-2 in OT this season. The Grizzlies (27-23) dropped to 2-2 in overtime games.
Guard Dion Waiters added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, while guard C.J. Miles had 14 points. Center Anderson Varejao had a game-high 14 rebounds in addition to four points and five assists.
The Cavaliers outrebounded the Grizzlies 48-46.
A monster slam by Waiters with 41.1 seconds left in overtime iced the contest. Waiters beat forward James Johnson off the dribble for a 87-81 advantage.
Guard Nick Calathes had a team-high 17 points and six assists for the Grizzlies. Johnson added 15 points, while power forward Zach Randolph had 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Cavaliers shot 39.8 percent from the field, compared to the Grizzlies’ 38.4 percent. The difference was behind the arc. The Cavs made 10 of 20 3-point attempts, while Memphis was just three of 14.
The Grizzlies overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Johnson scored 13 unanswered points to give Memphis a 78-74 lead with 1:57 to play.
A steal by Varejao led to a fast-break layup by Irving with 18.1 seconds left, knotting the score at 78. Irving missed a chance at a three-point play, however.
With a chance to win the game, Randolph turned the ball over with 2.3 seconds left.
NOTES: Two weeks before the NBA trade deadline, David Griffin took over as the Cavaliers’ acting general manager. “It’s not easy,” Griffin said, “But I wouldn’t have wanted to do it otherwise.” Griffin was promoted from his role as vice president of basketball operations Thursday when GM Chris Grant was fired. … The Grizzlies were missing three key performers Sunday, including their starting backcourt of Mike Conley (sprained right ankle) and Tony Allen (sprained left wrist). F Quincy Pondexter (stress fracture in right foot) is also sidelined. Conley is day-to-day, Grizzlies coach David Joerger said. … Cavaliers F Luol Deng returned after missing one game due to an illness. … Cleveland C Anderson Varejao and Grizzlies C Marc Gasol were teammates for FC Barcelona in Spain in 2003-04. … The Grizzlies’ frontcourt is formidable with 6-foot-9 Zach Randolph and 7-1 Gasol. “Zach has been tremendous,” Joerger said. “They play well off each other.”
