The Cleveland Cavaliers dug themselves a hole tonight at Quicken Loans Arena, a hole they were unable to dig out of. Trailing by 20 points at halftime, the Cavaliers rallied in the 2nd half, cutting the lead to just 6 points early in the 4th quarter before the Denver Nuggets put the wine and gold away for a 117-103 win.
After giving up 70 points in the first half, the Cavaliers actually played a bit of defense in holding the Nuggets to 47 second half points. By then, too much damage had been done.
Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 33 points and Arron Afflalo added 23 for the Nuggets who improved to 8-13 on the road. Anthony, subject of trade rumors all season long was 9-22 from the field, but went 15-18 from the free throw line. Overall, the Nuggets went to the charity stripe 35 times compared to the Cavaliers who took just 23 free throws.
J.J. Hickson led the Cavaliers with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Hickson was 10-12 from the field and dominated the Nuggets inside after Nene left after just nine minutes. Antawn Jamison added 20 points for the Cavaliers who have just one victory since LeBron James made his Quicken Loans Arena return back on December 2.
The Cavaliers get a day off before heading to Florida for a back-to-back road trip to Orlando and Miami.