On January 1st, Beijing time, the NBA 2024-25 season regular season welcomes a focus match in the league, with the Cleveland Cavaliers traveling to Los Angeles to challenge the Los Angeles Lakers back-to-back. This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. In the previous match, the Cavaliers defeated the Lakers by 24 points, showing a clear advantage. It must be said that the Cavaliers have indeed emerged as a dark horse this season, currently ranking first in the Eastern Conference and the entire league with a record of 28 wins and 4 losses. According to data released by American media B/R, if the Cavaliers maintain their current win rate of 87.5% until the end of the season, their record for the season will be 72 wins and 10 losses, which is indeed terrifying. Moreover, the Cavaliers are currently on a hot streak of 7 consecutive victories, with an undefeated record of 8 wins and 0 losses against Western Conference teams.
In contrast, the Lakers' performance this season can be considered average, currently ranking seventh in the West with a record of 18 wins and 13 losses. However, recently, the Lakers' management completed a major 5-for-2 trade with the Nets at lightning speed, acquiring 3D forward Finney-Smith, which was indeed unexpected. In addition, James also officially celebrated his 40th birthday. This superstar, who has been playing in the NBA for 22 years, is averaging 23.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 9 assists this season, with a shooting percentage of 49.6%, which is indeed amazing. After training yesterday, James also publicly stated that he hopes to retire with the Lakers.
Before the game, American media ESPN also provided the latest win probability prediction for today's game, with the Cavaliers having a win probability of 70.0% and the Lakers having only 30.0%. Obviously, the American media is very optimistic about the Cavaliers completing a double kill over the Lakers this season. In terms of starting lineups for this game, on the Lakers' side, Hood-Hifino (left hamstring strain), Jackson-Hayes (right ankle sprain/bruise), Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery), and Wood (left knee surgery recovery) were absent from the game. Redick's latest starting five are: James, Davis, Hachimura, Christie, and Reeves; On the Cavaliers' side, Okoro is absent and Strus is questionable to play, with the starting lineup being: Ries-Garland, Donovan-Mitchell, Dean-Wade, Evan-Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
In the first quarter, Mitchell and Mobley hit three-pointers in succession, giving the Cavaliers an 8-2 lead over the Lakers. James hit consecutive open threes in space, scoring 8 points to help the Lakers reduce the gap to 3 points. Wade broke through and drew a foul on Davis, completing a 2+1. Reeves made consecutive turnovers, and Strus followed up with a three-pointer to complete a 3+1, and the Cavaliers retook the lead by 15 points with a run. Davis drew a foul but was ignored by the referee, Finney-Smith followed up with a dunk to score his first point for the Lakers, and Reeves turned around after receiving the ball and dribbled past Niang, scoring 8 points in a row to help the Lakers chase to within 7 points.
In the second quarter, Mitchell hit another three-pointer after receiving the ball, Reeves half-turned and faked out the defense for a layup, and Knickert countered to close the gap to 2 points, forcing a timeout from the Cavaliers. After the timeout, Allen committed a traveling violation, and Reeves continued to deliver wonderful passes, assisting James and Davis in completing two-handed dunks, and then countered to complete a 2+1, leading the Lakers to overtake the Cavaliers by 2 points. Garland stopped and shot a three-pointer, which finally went in, followed by a no-look pass to Allen for an easy layup, and the Cavaliers responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead and force a timeout from the Lakers. Christie stole the ball while guarding Garland and easily completed a two-handed dunk in transition, and Reeves assisted Hachimura with an alley-oop dunk again. At halftime, the Lakers trailed the Cavaliers 53-58 by 5 points.
At halftime, on the Lakers' side, James made 5 of 10 shots, including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, scoring 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. He has now scored in double figures in 1251 consecutive games, continuing to set the NBA record; Reeves made 6 of 10 shots, scoring 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. On the Cavaliers' side, Mitchell made 4 of 9 shots, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 4 of 5 free throws, scoring 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
After the break, James continued to make wonderful passes to Davis and Reeves, helping the Lakers close the gap to 2 points and force another timeout from the Cavaliers. Strus hit back-to-back threes from both sides, and after the Cavaliers' timeout, they made four more threes to extend their lead to 12 points. Christie and Davis hit threes in succession, and Milton received a direct pass from James and hit a corner three, and the Lakers immediately responded with a 10-0 run to close the gap to 2 points again. LeVert hit another three from the top of the arc, and the Cavaliers led the Lakers by 9 points after hitting seven threes in the third quarter and entered the final quarter.
In the decisive fourth quarter, Mitchell hit a super long three-pointer and stopped and shot, making it 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter and extending the Cavaliers' lead to 16 points. Reeves broke through and drew a foul, followed by drawing a three-point foul, making all five free throws and scoring 32 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Mitchell broke through with a Euro step, changed hands, and made a high off the glass with his left hand. Hachimura and Reddish missed from the same position, and James grabbed the rebound and drove the length of the court for a layup, followed by hitting a corner three, and the Lakers closed the gap to 5 points. Allen received the ball under the basket and completed another 2+1, leaving no doubt about the outcome of the game. In the end, the Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 122-110, winning their eighth consecutive victory and also completing a double kill over the Lakers for the season.
In the full game, on the Lakers' side, James scored 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists; Davis made 12 of 23 shots for 28 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks; Hachimura scored 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal; Reeves scored 35 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists; Lakers' new aid rises, Finney-Smith contributed 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists; Milton made 2 of 3 threes for 6 points and 2 rebounds; Christie scored 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 steal. On the Cavaliers' side, Mitchell made 8 of 20 shots for 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers; Garland scored 14 points, 2 rebounds, 14 assists, and 2 steals; Little Mobley scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block; Allen scored 27 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
