Sunday, November 22, 2009

Cavs gets defensive at the right time.. goods!!

Another Lebron show! Cleveland wins 97-91 over the Sixers. When LeBron James is this good, you have no chance. You may think you do, but you would only be kidding yourself.
That's the lesson learned following Cleveland's 97-91 dismantling of Philadelphia on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.
James did it from inside and outside, with his back to the basket and right at the rim. He threw lob passes in the half-court, behind-the-back passes off the fast break, pinpoint bounce passes that led to easy baskets and dunks.
And that was just the first quarter.
As 76ers coach Eddie Jordan said with a shake of the head, "He's a very special player."
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown added with a smile, "LeBron was LeBron. Nothing ceases to amaze me when it comes to him."
By the end of the game, James had tallied 32 points on a sizzling 13-for-20 shooting, nine assists and seven rebounds. By the end of the night, the Sixers were reminded of what they already knew -- that if you allow it to become All LeBron, All The Time, you're in deep trouble.
James emerged from the weekend with an average of 36 points per game, having scored 40 in Indiana on Friday. Just as he did the previous night against the Pacers, James lifted the Cavs with a big basket, pass or rebound whenever it seemed like the Sixers might be dreaming of an upset.
And for a while, there was indeed hope.
The Sixers overcame a 36-23 deficit in the first quarter to take an 81-75 lead at the end of the third.
But for the second time in two nights, the Cavs showed that along with a high-powered offense based around good old No. 23, they can still shut you down when the need arises.
Friday in Indiana, they held the Pacers to 13 fourth-quarter points. Saturday at home, they held the Sixers to 10.
Credit belongs to guys like Cavs reserve forwards Jamario Moon and Anderson Varejao, men who are always looking to step into a passing lane, chase down a loose ball, and basically find ways to distract the opposition.
"Obviously, Jamario's length and energy coming off the bench was big for us," Brown said. "Andy and [Zydrunas Ilgauskas] did a nice job starting us off on the defensive end of the floor, and then Mo [Williams] hit some big shots. Everyone was on a string. Everyone helped one another and trusted one another. It was great to see."
Of the group Brown mentioned, Williams had the best night statistically, finishing with 18 points and tying Ilgauskas with a team-high eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Jordan was considerably more pleased with his team's effort than he was after Friday's home loss to Memphis. One of the reason's was the Sixers' own No. 23, guard Lou Williams, who scored a team-high 22 points.
Another was forward Elton Brand, who accumulated 18 points and 14 boards. Also, Thaddeus Young scored 21 points.
"I have no problem with our effort tonight," Jordan said. "I have no problem with a lot of things we did tonight. We rose to the challenge in a tough environment. I like the way we executed, I like the way we talked. It was a different team from what we saw [Friday]. We just didn't win the game."
Sixers guard Andre Iguodala, who struggled by making just six of 22 shots, agreed with his coach.
"Something that we do sometimes is kind of play to our level of competition," Iguodala said. "We raised our level of play tonight. We had them against the ropes. It was just a matter of not being able to make shots."
Mostly, it was a matter of too much James. And for Cavs' opponents, it's only likely to get tougher.
"I watch a lot of film and do a lot of critiquing of myself," James said. "Just to see where I need to get better."
After weekends like this, it's downright scary to envision that happening.

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