Road Warriors Rock the Magic Kingdom
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Larry Hughes cans the amazing three-pointer to beat the shot clock. 
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Fernando Medina NBAE/Getty Images |
After a strange and strenuous 24 hours, the Wine and Gold could have mailed it in against the Magic, but the 1-2 punch of Larry Hughes and LeBron James was not about to let that happen as Cleveland took home one of the more satisfying wins of the season – a tough 118-111 victory at Amway Arena in Orlando.
On Sunday night, the Cavaliers were throttled by 30 points at The Q and were due to leave later that night for Orlando. But a mechanical problem sidelined the flight and they were forced to leave the next morning. The team arrived in Florida at 2:30 p.m. – just 4 ˝ hours before tip-off.
Early on, it seemed like Cleveland would run out of gas under the extenuating circumstances, falling behind by eight – 28-20 – after one quarter. But the Cavaliers found their legs to start the second quarter and after falling behind by 10, came storming back – using a 17-7 run led by Devin Brown to draw even.
The Cavaliers trailed by only three at the half, but that was before the Larry Hughes Show began.
The sinewy shooter from St. Louis warmed up by hitting a three-pointer less than 30 seconds into the second half, and it was straight butter from there. Hughes scored from every point on the floor – going 6-for-7 from the field and 9-of-10 from the stripe – tying World B. Free and Terry Furlow for the second-most points by a Cavalier in a single quarter with 23. (LeBron broke that record earlier this season with a 24-point period in Toronto.)
“I felt comfortable, and I was able to get to the free throw line, also,” said Hughes. “Any time you get free throws and layups, it makes the jump shots that much easier. I was able to get some nice looks and catch a good rhythm – my teammates were looking for me, and I was able to knock down the shots.”
Hughes’ outburst put the Cavaliers back in the driver’s seat and they took a three-point lead into the final period. And by that point, the Magic had to contend with both a red-hot Hughes and a simmering James, who was relatively quiet through three quarters.
Hedo Turkoglu’s trey halfway through the fourth cut Cleveland’s lead to four, but Orlando would get no closer. Hughes’ triple with four minutes to play gave the Cavaliers a 10-point lead and essentially put the game out of reach.
Hughes’ 40-point night was his high as a Cavalier and was the most ever scored by a Cavalier against Orlando. The ninth-year combo guard finished 12-of-19 from the floor – (including 4-of-5 from long-distance) – and was 12-for-13 from the line. He added six boards, three assists and a pair steals.
LeBron did his share of damage on Monday night, as well. James finished with 29 points and game-high 10 assists. Like Hughes, the young King got a lion’s share of his points from the stripe – going 12-for-15. He added seven boards, three steals and a blocked shot.
“I basically controlled the offense and made sure everyone was in the right spot, and Larry made the key plays,” said James. “Every single play was called for him in the second half. I wanted Larry to touch the ball first because he was in that rhythm and he had it going.”
The shorthanded Cavaliers got a lift when Drew Gooden was cleared to play and he responded in his first game back with 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Ira Newble rounded out the starters in double-figures with 10 points of his own and Devin Brown came off Mike Brown’s bench to net 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Donyell Marshall had his best game since returning from the IL with nine points and seven boards.
“We had to have guys step up at different times,” said Brown. “There was a time that Donyell stepped up for us, there was a time where Devin Brown stepped up for us huge on both ends of the floor. It wasn’t just Larry and LeBron – we got contributions from other guys. It was a team effort and that allowed us to have energy down the stretch.”
But it might have been a Cavalier who barely broke the scoring column who – aside from Hughes and James – had the game’s biggest impact. Dwayne Jones finished with two points and five personal fouls, yet completely flummoxed Orlando’s All-Star center, Dwight Howard.
Howard had 10 points in the first quarter, but managed only three in the second half as Cleveland’s rugged big man from St. Joseph’s tangled up Orlando’s franchise player for most of the evening. Howard was rendered so ineffective that Magic coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t insert him back into the lineup until there were less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
The Cavaliers close out the unofficial halfway point of the season with a Finals rematch on Wednesday night at The Q when they welcome the San Antonio Spurs to the North Coast.
NOTES
“It’s been a bad trip for us, but we still have to go on the court and play,” said LeBron during Monday’s pre-game. “It’s all messed up. This is the first time in my career that I didn’t get a nap on the day of the game. It could be worse, though. Playing basketball is something that I love, but as far as routine – nobody’s found their routine today.”
“One of the things we’ve been harping on is trying to get to the free throw line more times than we shot threes. And tonight, for the first time in four ballgames, and that was really helpful in us trying to be the aggressor and attacking – not settling for threes unless we’re wide open.”
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