The Final Dime - Cavaliers 101, Spurs 81
 LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 38 points in Sunday's win. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images |
After dropping two ugly decisions on the road – the second of which was a total drubbing in Orlando – the Cavaliers were looking to right the ship and return to their winning ways. What better place to do so than where the Wine and Gold had won 36 of their first 37 ballgames?
Cleveland had manhandled San Antonio by 11 earlier this season, but neither Tim Duncan nor Manu Ginobili suited up for that loss. The Spurs might have been better off resting that dynamic duo again on Sunday as the Cavaliers clobbered San Antonio by 20 – 101-81 – in a matinee matchup at The Q.
The Cavaliers trio of LeBron James, Mo Williams and Delonte West combined for 82 points – enough to outscore the Spurs themselves.
Individually, LeBron did most of the damage – notching 26 of his game-high 38 points in the first half, adding seven boards, six assists and a steal. James went 14-for-21 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the stripe in 36 minutes of action.
“I knew I wanted to be aggressive today,” said James. “(I wanted to) get us into a groove early in the game and not wait around until the second quarter like I usually do. I had a good feel for it early on and just kept it going.”
Delonte and Mo Williams had 22 points apiece, with West going 10-for-15 from the floor and Williams shooting 9-for-15. West added six boards and Mo chipped in with five boards, four helpers and a pair of steals.
“We definitely push the ball a whole lot more,” said Williams, referring to the one-two punch of he and Delonte. “It puts another playmaker and ball-handler on the floor with me and we just make plays. We run a lot of pick and rolls and get good shots on the floor, and it kind of speeds the game up a little bit.”
LeBron’s jumper tied the game at 14-apiece midway through the first quarter, and his 18-footer off the glass on Cleveland’s next possession put Cleveland ahead to stay. The Wine and Gold led by one point after the first period and by 13 after two. With just under three minutes to play, the Cavaliers had run their lead to 20, and Mike Brown began to empty his bench.
“The focus, effort and energy was there, especially that second, third and fourth quarter,” praised Coach Mike Brown. “I thought that at the beginning of the game, we had a few breakdowns defensively, but as the course of the game went on, our guys’ focus, energy and effort got better and better. That was great to see.”
In the previous two losses to the Wizards and Magic, the Cavaliers’ defense was uncharacteristically absent – allowing an average of 112.5 points on 52.1 percent shooting. But Mike Brown’s men returned to form on Sunday afternoon, limiting their 2007 Finals foes to just 39 percent from the floor – including 25 percent from beyond the arc – and outrebounding the Spurs, 44-34.
The Cavaliers collectively shot 53 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from long distance.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas led all rebounders with 10 to go with his eight points. Joe Smith was the only Cavalier to score in reserve, notching seven points and five boards. Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak ad Sasha Pavlovic were a combined 0-for-9 from the floor.
The Cavaliers get a couple days off to start the week and will look for a measure of revenge against the Wizards when Gilbert Arenas and Co. make their final appearance of the season at The Q on Wednesday.
2. On Sunday, the Cavaliers announced that they had made the medically necessary release of Eric Snow. The Canton native suffered, what ultimately became, a career-ending injury to his left knee prior to the start of last season and he has not practiced or played during the current season. In four years with the Cavaliers, Snow played in 267 games (147 starts), averaging 4.0 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 rebounds. Snow played in all but one regular season game from the 2004-05 through the ‘06-07 seasons
3. The Wine and Gold haven’t dropped three straight since March 22-29 of last year.
4. Drew Gooden made his return to The Q – playing for the team he started against as a member of the Cavaliers in the 2007 Finals. Sunday was Drew’s 13th game with the Spurs after one game with Sacramento. He came in averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 13 minutes per game with San Antonio. Drew finished with 15 points and five boards on Sunday.
5. Darnell Jackson got the first start of his NBA career on Sunday afternoon. Anderson Varejao, suffering from a right wrist contusion, was a last-minute scratch – allowing the rugged rookie to get his first nod of the season. The former Jayhawk finished with four points, five boards and a blocked shot in 24 minutes of action. Varejao had started 20 straight for Cleveland, with the Cavaliers going 17-3 in that span.
6. The Cavaliers welcomed a few celebrity guests to The Q for Sunday afternoon’s nationally televised affair. On hand were a pair of legendary bass players – Parliament-Funkadelic’s Bootsy Collins and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea – resplendent in bright blue hair. Legendary hoopster, Oscar Robertson, was in the house, as was Browns quarterback, Brady Quinn.
7. The Cavaliers are now 37-1, tying another franchise record – this one for wins at home, set in 1988-89. The all-time NBA record for home wins was set by the 1985-86 Boston Celtics, who went 40-1 at the Garden.
8. With San Antonio shooting a combined 39 percent from the floor, the Cavaliers have now held their opponent under 50 percent shooting in 40 straight games at home.
9. With Sunday’s game, the Cavaliers close out the Western Conference portion of the 2008-09 schedule, turning in the East’s best inter-conference mark at 26-4 – easily the Wine and Gold’s best record against the West in team history. The Cavaliers swept 12 opponents and beat 14 of the West’s 15 teams – with the L.A. Lakers being the exception.
10. The Cavaliers are now an NBA-best 13-2 following a loss. Two of those wins have come against the Spurs, who the Cavaliers have swept for the second time in the past three seasons and have beaten for the sixth time in the past seven tries.
