LeBron James had a field day passing the ball to his teammates at a time when the Cleveland Cavaliers were shorthanded. Good thing the remaining players caught fire. James recorded a career-high 19 assists as the Cavs defeated the Atlanta Hawks 123-107 Friday.
Six players scored in double-figures thanks to James’ timely passes.
The win came after the Cavs lost six players due to Thursday’s trade deadline deals. Gone from the team were Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, and Channing Frye.
The trade brought in Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. from the Los Angeles Lakers, George Hill from the Sacramento Kings, and Rodney Hood from the Utah Jazz. They won’t be available to play until Sunday when the Cavs face the Boston Celtics.
It didn’t matter that the Cavs only used an eight-man rotation on this night as Jeff Green and Kyle Korver caught fire with James finding them and their teammates for scoring opportunities throughout the game.
Korver scored 30 points, shooting 7-of-13 from 3-point distance. Green added 24 points including 3-of-4 from long distance as each of them made 9-of-16 from the field overall.
James found both of them often for 3-point shots and assisted on many of Tristan Thompson’s baskets inside. Rookie Cedi Osman was also the recipient of James’ pinpoint accuracy in this game.
Not content with purely getting his career-high in assists, James also recorded a ttriple-double adding 22 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th triple-double this season and the 65th of his career. This is also his second consecutive triple-double.
On Dec. 13, James tied his previous career-high with 17 assists against, oddly enough, the Hawks. The Cavs also scored 123 points in that game to the Hawks 114.
