CLEVELAND (Ticker) — Wesley Person scored 24 points, Lamond Murray added 21 and both were hot from the arc as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first home game of the season, 101-94 over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Brian Skinner and the Cavs have never lost to the Grizzlies at home in six attempts.
Person made 4-of-7 3-pointers and Murray was 3-of-4 from the arc, helping the Cavaliers build a 14-point lead with 1:58 remaining.
The Cavaliers avenged a 98-93 defeat Saturday at Memphis, the Grizzlies’ sole win of the season. Cleveland is 1-4 at home.
“I thought we could get a win at home,” Cleveland coach John Lucas said. “We can play better than we have played at home. It was good to get the win and we’ve just got to keep building. We wouldn’t have beaten a good basketball team at home but we’ll take it.”
“I wanted to sit out last Saturday because I was feeling a lot of pain, but it felt good tonight,” said Person, who missed the first contest with a sore right wrist. “This is the best part of our schedule and we have played a lot of tough teams here. The win tonight was great.”
Murray hit his final 3-pointer with 4:01 remaining to open a 94-83 lead. It was the Cavs’ 10th shot from the arc, tying a season high.
“It was good to get it out of the way, and we had to do it tonight,” Murray said. “We had to get a win especially after losing to Memphis last Saturday. We gave them their first win last week, but everybody contributed tonight. Diving for loose balls was the difference in the game.”
“The Cavs shot the ball well, even with a hand in their faces,” Memphis coach Sidney Lowe said. “The shot clock ran down one time and with one second on the shot clock in front of our bench, Murray hit a 3-pointer; it was a key play. It’s a game of runs and we made our run at the end. They were able to regroup. They kept their composure and hit a couple of big shots. That was the difference.”
Rookie Pau Gasol scored 26 points and Stromile Swift added a season-high 24 on 8-of-12 shooting for Memphis, which fell to 1-9 on the season and 2-10 all-time vs. Cleveland. The Grizzlies have never won in Cleveland, falling to 0-6 at Gund Arena.
Jason Williams added 17 points for the Grizzlies but had just three in the second half.
Rookie Shane Battier added 11 points for Memphis but shot just 4-of-16.
“It didn’t matter who was on (Person),” Battier said. “He was just feeling it tonight. He’s a great shooter. It’s good for me to see that firsthand. Unfortunately, but hopefully, I can get to the point where I can come off screens like that and play like that as well.”
Williams began the game with his first of five 3-pointers, but the Grizzlies’ 3-0 lead would be their biggest of the game. Gasol hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2:59 left in the first to give Memphis a 25-23 lead, but it would be the team’s last advantage.
Cleveland had a 50-44 halftime lead despite committing 13 turnovers. The Cavaliers finished with 22 turnovers, five more than the Grizzlies.
“It was a good, clean win for us against a very athletic team inside,” Lucas said. “If we see teams that are very athletic inside, we struggle with those teams right now. We are going to Philadelphia looking for another win.”
