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The young King took matters into his own hands at the Delta Center, scoring 51 points in the Cavaliers 108-90 win.
The victory snapped a six-game losing streak and salvaged a bad road trip for both LeBron and his Cavaliers. LBJ also became the youngest player to score 5,000 points in a career topping Kobe Bryant. (Bryant must not have liked the news and took it out on the Raptors – scoring 81 points, the second-highest total in NBA history.)
The Cavaliers hadn’t topped Utah since the 1980s before LeBron came to Cleveland; Saturday’s win was the Cavaliers’ third straight at the Delta Center and fix in the last six over Jerry Sloan’s squad. Of course, Carlos Boozer – who’s missed nearly an entire NBA season, 73 games – did not play.
The sold-out arena had no choice but to give LeBron a standing ovation when he left the court after his big feat. “It was awesome, having the opposing fans cheer for you,” said LeBron. “It gets no better than that. It was awesome."
Utah had to be a little nervous when a superstar wearing No. 23 was suffering from flu-like symptoms before the game. LeBron also had a sore right knee and was a game-time decision.
"LeBron James is amazing,” praised Coach Mike Brown. “After playing last night, banging up his knee, he was a game-time decision, and he came down with the flu . . . then he goes for 51 tonight. He is flat-out amazing!”
Of course, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan found a way to rip his young club while giving it up for James. “He was terrific; he made his shots, and he’s just a wonderful player. I think we’re intimidated by him a great deal.”
But perhaps more encouraging than LeBron going off in Saturday night’s win was the re-emergence of Donyell Marshall, who finally shook off the west coast rust to get back into a rhythm – scoring 24 points after not hitting double-figures in the previous five on the road. Marshall went 4-of-8 from long-distance, but more importantly, he mixed up his floor game.
Marshall had a pair of productive seasons in Utah a few years ago, but apparently, the crowd was not as warm with Marshall as one might expect. “The fans started talking trash, things didn’t go well in free agency when I left and some people were talking,” said Marshall. “That got me geared me up. I hadn’t been playing well as of late and I needed a game like tonight.”
One other bright spot for the Cavaliers, as they prepare for another tough week – home for Indiana, two more on the road – was the job Sasha Pavlovic did in the starting lineup. Pavlovic got his first start of the season, and although he made some mistakes that a 22-year-old will make, looks to be a keeper and should get penciled in on Tuesday night at The Q.
The longest road trip of the season is over and although it doesn’t get that much easier for the Cavaliers – schedule-wise – at least they can straighten themselves out east of the Mississippi. We’ll find out on Tuesday night whether or not they can get a roll going to end the month.
Be sure to tune in during every Cleveland Cavaliers' game for Joe Gabriele's IN-GAME LIVE quarterly updates.
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 January 23, 2006LeBron James scored 51 Saturday night against the Utah Jazz, posting the 3rd 50-point game in his career. James became the youngest player in NBA history at 21 years and 22 days, to score 5,000 points in his career. |
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Wild West Shootout: In the first 150-point game in the NBA since the Los Angeles Clippers beat Toronto 152-120 on March 15, 1998, the Seattle Sonics beat the Phoenix Suns 152-149 in double overtime. The 301 points scored were the most in a game since Dallas beat Houston 156-147 in two overtimes on April 11, 1995. It was Phoenix's fourth loss this season in a game of two or more overtimes, an all-time NBA record. Ray Allen scored 42 points, 32 points after the 3rd quarter, including 8-of-16 3s and a 35-footer at the buzzer to give Seattle the win. The team’s also combined for 32 3-pointers, breaking the mark of 31 set by Toronto and Philadelphia on March 13, 2005. – Elias Sports Bureau
Around the League
London Bridges: London is “in line to host a team” in a new developmental league the NBA is “planning to launch in Europe in the near future,” according to Ian Whittell of the LONDON TIMES, who writes the chances that a league will be in place for Fall ’06 are “strong.” NBA sources “described negotiations with interested potential owners as being at ‘mid-point,’ but informal talks have opened with the [NBPA] over how its members could be allocated to European clubs.” Sources said that the NBA “will target second tier European countries that do not already possess strong domestic basketball leagues,” including Britain, as well as Scandinavian and other northern European countries.
| JANUARY 2006 |
Tuesday, January 24th vs. Indiana 7:00 p.m. Purchase Tickets
Sunday, January 29th vs. Phoenix 1:00 p.m. Purchase Tickets
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