Another game, another close finish. For the sixth time in a row and the ninth time in the last 10, the Cavaliers found a way to win this past weekend.
But Saturday’s 52-50 victory over then-No. 7 Duke, another in an unexpected run of thrillers, felt a little bigger in part not only because of the opponent but because of the number of plays the Wahoos had to make on both ends of the floor.
What’s become clear, of course, is how reliable the defense is and how comfortable this team is in the clutch.
Of course, making plays late is a little easier when you’re doing things like this:
Buoyed by a 10-block outing from Jay Huff and some quality D by Mamadi Diakite on future NBA Draft pick Vernon Carey, the Cavaliers were able to beat Duke and put themselves into a spot to contend for the ACC’s regular season title.
“Terrific,” Tony Bennett said of the defensive effort on Carey. “He’s such an excellent player and well-schooled and he’s hard to handle. I’ll watch the tape but I thought we did a really good job. There were a few times maybe we weren’t perfect, but overall I thought we defended the way we had to in the interior.”
The fact that Diakite could handle Carey on his own allowed UVa to move away from its typical post-double, which Bennett said allowed Huff free rein to protect the rim.
“Well I knew that at that point, he was their main scorer,” Diakite said. “He had a heavy offensive presence on us. That was making us get super close to him and leaving guys open outside, so they were able to have rhythm shots. That’s when I realized trapping wasn’t going to be good. I was looking at my teammates and kind of telling them that we should not trap. All of the coaches were saying that. Then at some point, I went to see Coach (Jason) Williford and told him that I don’t need to be trapped. After one of the plays, they realized that they could leave me alone with him.
“That was the story,” he added.
When it wasn’t Diakite jamming up Carey, the Cavaliers relied on Huff to protect the bucket.
“We try to slide our feet as best as possible,” Kihei Clark said. “But if we do get beat, we kind of just put our hands up and then let Jay clean it up up top. We try not to get any dumb fouls because Jay can prevent it. Jay does a great job of blocking shots, so when you have somebody, a force, behind you like that, you can kind of get into the ball a little bit and try to pressure it a little bit. He brings a big presence on the defensive end of the court.”
Of course, much like the winning streak itself, this win required some offense too. The Cavaliers used an 8-3 run to go ahead coming out of the under-4 before Tre Jones rose and drilled a 3-pointer with 2:50 left. After the teams traded baskets, Diakite scored inside with 39.6 seconds left to give the team the lead for good. And he did so through contact as the Blue Devils looked to take a charge.
“No,” Diakite said simply when asked if he worried about a whistle. “I didn’t. I knew what the team needed at that point, that bucket. It was a critical moment, so I just did what I had to do. Credit to [my teammates], they were able to find me.”
“Huge,” Bennett said. “He had great feel…The play he made late, I really liked that. I have to say how much I liked him defending and how tough he was that way. But he took advantage of those mismatches [offensively]. That’s tough when they’re switching off ball screens and Duke can do that with their personnel. He was locked in that way…He was terrific.”
The Cavaliers have made the push they knew they were capable of. Now, they’d like to keep pushing.
“At the end of the day,” Clark said, “it just comes down to making plays.”
“We still have room to grow,” Bennett added. “Just a little better in all areas. Guys are making big plays…down the stretch and that’s what it comes down to.”
