Cavs offense too much for Lakers despite career night from Austin Reaves

Cleveland’s league-best offense was too much for the Lakers on New Year’s Eve despite Austin Reaves tying his career high in points.

The Cavs knocked down 3-pointers early and often against the Lakers on Tuesday, adding to their league-best record with a 122-110 win on New Year’s Eve.

Cleveland won the math game in a big way on the night, connecting on 18 3-pointers compared to just nine for the Lakers.

Austin Reaves had a big night, matching his career high with 35 points along with 10 assists and nine rebounds. Anthony Davis had a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds. LeBron James struggled early but finished with 23 points on 9-17 shooting.

Both Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton made their debuts. DFS had two points on 1-4 shooting while Milton had a pair of 3-pointers for six points.

Rui Hachimura also struggled, finishing with seven points. Max Christie had five points and Dalton Knecht had six points.

LeBron, fresh off his 40th birthday, knocked down a pair of early 3-pointers to try to keep the Lakers attached. However, much like the last meeting between the two sides, Cleveland raced to an early lead.

Sloppiness crept into the game for the purple and gold in the form of turnovers, missed layups and allowing Cavs offensive rebounds as the visitors opened up a 20-12 lead near the midway point of the frame. The problems snowballed and the lead grew to as large as 29-14.

The Lakers finally responded with a 6-0 run to pull back within single digits. Reaves was at the middle of lots of action, for better and for worse, in the opening frame and his spinning layup cut the deficit to seven.

Milton knocked down a 3-pointer in his first possession as a Laker, extending it to a 14-2 run. After trailing by 14 early in the period, the hosts went into the second quarter down just 34-30.

The Lakers started the second period with a small frontcourt of LeBron, Hachimura, and Finney-Smith. Neither team could find much of a rhythm in the opening minutes of the period until Donovan Mitchell connected on a 3-pointer to make it a 39-33 lead.

Knecht and Reaves' layups, AD's alley-oop finish, and LeBron's fastbreak dunk gave them a 41-39 lead. Cleveland responded with a run of its own to take back the lead at 49-44 and force a timeout from head coach JJ Redick.

Shooting struggles plagued the Lakers in the first half as the Lakers started the game 3-16 from the 3-point overall and 0-9 in the second period. Cleveland, meanwhile, continued scoring and the lead ballooned to 55-48.

Davis finally knocked down a 3-pointer but Mitchell responded with one of his own. Reaves knocked down a mid-range jumper to send the teams into the locker room with the Lakers down five.

The two teams opened the second half trading baskets, with the lead fluctuating between five and seven points. A fastbreak dunk from AD and a layup from Reaves broke that pattern, pulling the Lakers within two, leading to a Cleveland timeout.

Strus hit back-to-back threes out of the timeout to immediately make it an eight-point game again. After an AD layup, Darius Garland and Strus connected on the fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the quarter for Cleveland to push the advantage to 12.

The Lakers responded with a 10-0 run in 1:41, using an AD putback and alley-oop and 3-pointers by Christie and AD to make it a two-point game once more.

Milton knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game but Cleveland had a response as the Lakers closed the quarter poorly. Mitchell and Caris LeVert knocked down 3-pointers and the Cavs led 87-78 heading into the fourth.

Mitchell connected on a pair of 3-pointers on either side of a pair of LeBron layups to make it a 13-point game and put the Lakers in serious danger. Georges Niang knocked down a corner 3-pointer and forced a timeout with the Lakers down 96-80.

The Lakers tried to make another comeback, but the Cavs continued hitting enough shots to keep them at arm’s length. Reaves did all he could in the fourth to pull the Lakers back into the game but a lack of defensive stops proved costly.

Garland and Jarrett Allen looked to combine to put the finishing touches on the win for Cleveland with a series of pick-and-roll possessions leading to scores.

The Lakers were putting together a great fake comeback that reached its climax on a LeBron 3-pointer in transition, making it a 112-107 game with just under three minutes left.

Cleveland got whatever they wanted down the stretch as the Lakers offered no resistance around the rim down the stretch. Allen’s 27 points on 12-14 shooting and Garland’s 14 assists reflect their impressive two-man game.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.