Nets-Cavaliers Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Dec 31 2011 9:35PM

While they've dropped three straight, Deron Williams thinks he and the New Jersey Nets are heading in the right direction.

The star guard and the Nets visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

After opening the season with an 90-84 win over Washington on Monday, New Jersey (1-3) has dropped three in a row, including a 105-98 defeat at Atlanta on Friday. The Nets have averaged 84.0 points and shot 38.9 percent this season, including 29.9 percent from 3-point range.

Those struggles aren't totally unexpected. New Jersey is playing without center Brook Lopez, last season's leading scorer with 20.4 points per game. He's expected to miss a month with a stress fracture in his foot.

That puts more pressure on Williams to lead a young Nets squad. After shooting 28.9 percent and averaging 14.3 points in New Jersey's first three games, Williams finished with 23 points against the Hawks, including 19 in the second half, while shooting 9 for 18.

"I'm not getting much out of pick-and-rolls because teams are just sitting on me," said Williams, who averaged 20.1 points playing for Utah and the Nets last season. "I think `I-sos' are going to be more effective until we figure out the pick-and-roll game. I was able to get something going and turn it around and hopefully get my confidence going."

He wasn't the only one to gain confidence in the loss. Rookie MarShon Brooks scored a season-high 21 points Friday and is averaging 15.3, while Mehmet Okur had a season-high 15 in New Jersey's second loss to Atlanta in the young season.

Cleveland (1-2) is also trying to build off a good performance following its 98-91 overtime loss at Indiana. Rookie Kyrie Irving had his best game, finishing with 20 points, but the 19-year-old missed a layup that would have won the game at the end of regulation.

Irving was 8 of 19 from the field, but the rest of the Cavaliers shot 37.7 percent. Irving had 20 points in the first two games combined.

"Irving is a heck of a player," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Not `going to be,' but right now."

Irving played just 11 games in his only season at Duke, missing more than three months due to a foot injury that sidelined him until the NCAA tournament. Despite the limited playing time, Cleveland saw enough to envision him as a franchise player and worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and he's averaged 13.3 points and 6.0 assists thus far.

Like New Jersey, Cleveland has shown signs of rust. Its top three scorers in Irving, Antawn Jamison and Ramon Sessions are shooting a combined 38.2 percent. Meanwhile, the team's most consistent player, Anderson Varejao, is dealing with a sore back and questionable for Sunday. He's averaging 12.7 points and 10.0 rebounds.

The Cavs play their next two at home before embarking on a seven-game road trip. They are looking to gain some confidence before the challenging stretch.

"It would be big (to come away with two wins)," said coach Byron Scott, who guided the Nets to back-to-back NBA finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. "We've played two solid games, but this is going to be a tough game for us. Hopefully our guys come hungry and mad."

The Nets won three of four against the Cavaliers last season. All four games were decided by eight or fewer points.

Jamison, 3-pointers lead Cavaliers past Nets 98-82

Posted Jan 01 2012 10:15PM

CLEVELAND (AP) Kyrie Irving grew up rooting for the New Jersey Nets. On Sunday night, he helped the Cleveland Cavaliers send his former favorite team to a loss.

Irving scored 13 points and started Cleveland's barrage of 16 3-pointers, leading the Cavaliers to a 93-82 win over the Nets.

"I even was up in the cheap seats for the (2003) NBA Finals with my dad and sister," he said. "I'm in Cleveland now, so me being a Nets fan is kind of out the window. It's a great win for our team."

Antawn Jamison scored 23 points and Cleveland made 16 of 26 shots from 3-point range, falling one short of the team record for 3s in a game. The Cavaliers made 17 3-pointers in the 2008 and '09 seasons.

Irving, the No. 1 pick in the draft, hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third period to start Cleveland's run that took control of the game. The Cavaliers pulled away in the fourth quarter and the team Irving used to root for is winless in four games since an opening night victory.

Deron Williams led New Jersey with 16 points. The Nets lost despite having all five starters score in double figures.

"It's another loss," said Williams, who was 6 for 16 from the field and had his third game this season with six turnovers. "It's definitely frustrating. I'm not helping the team at all. Hopefully, I can turn it around and we can get some wins."

Daniel Gibson's 3-pointer gave the Cavaliers a 90-78 lead with 4:59 remaining. Gibson finished with 19 points, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers. The Cavaliers were 10 of 12 on 3-pointers in the second half.

"I'm still not convinced totally that we're a 3-point shooting team, but I think we have some guys that are capable of knocking down some 3s on a consistent basis when we do it in the flow of the game," said Cavaliers coach Byron Scott.

"They had some guys really struggling from the 3-point line coming into the game and they caught fire," New Jersey coach Avery Johnson said. "We didn't do a good job running them off the line."

The game featured a matchup between New Jersey guard MarShon Brooks and Irving, the league's top two rookie scorers. The advantage clearly went to Irving, who came into the game averaging 13.3 points. Brooks entered with a 15.3 average, but was scoreless in 12 minutes, missing all three of his shots.

"He just wasn't at his best tonight," Johnson said. "Things defensively gave him a few problems, but he'll bounce back."

The Cavaliers trailed 49-43 at halftime and Scott let his team know he wasn't happy with its effort.

"We had to do a better job defensively," he said. "We had to be more aggressive and start to get after them. We had to come up with our own energy and some life out there."

Gibson said: "He told us straight up, either we're going to go out there and play or we're going to play to win the game. We came out with a changed attitude on the defensive end."

The Nets have been struggling without center Brook Lopez, the team's leading scorer last season with 20.4 points per game. He's expected to miss a month with a stress fracture in his foot.

New Jersey shot 38 percent (27 of 71) from the field and hit 7-of-22 3-pointers. The Nets came into the game averaging 84 points and shooting 38.9 percent this season, including 29.9 percent from 3-point range.

Johnson has been tinkering with his lineup to find the proper fit. So far, it hasn't worked.

"You have to try to give it a chance," he said. "We are continuing to evaluate our starting lineup."

Alonzo Gee scored 11 points for Cleveland. Anthony Morrow came off the bench to score 15 points for the Nets.

NOTES: Nets F Kris Humphries was jeered by the crowd each time his name was announced. He was rated the least popular player in the league in a recent poll when his marriage to reality TV star Kim Kardashian ended after 72 days. Humphries set the Quicken Loans Arena record for rebounds in a game with 23 last season. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds Sunday. ... The Nets host Indiana on Monday. ... Both of Cleveland's wins this season have been by 16 points. The Cavaliers' biggest margin of victory last season was 12 points over Miami on March 29. ... Cavaliers C Anderson Varejao started despite injuring his back Friday against Indiana. He picked up two first-quarter fouls and didn't score until 2:25 remained in the third quarter. He finished the game with 11 rebounds. ... Cleveland hosts Charlotte on Tuesday.

Notebook: Cavaliers 98, Nets 82

By Brian Dulik, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 1, 2012 11:02PM

THE FACTS: Power forward Antawn Jamison scored a season-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 98-82 win over the New Jersey Nets. Shooting guard Daniel Gibson added 19 points off the bench, including five threes, as Cleveland outscored New Jersey 55-33 in the second half. Point guard Deron Williams collected 16 points and five assists for the Nets, who had all five starters score in double-figures but lost their fourth straight game.

QUOTABLE: "We had a really good run in the first half, but in the second half, they got hot from the 3-point line. Boy, they caught fire. They had a little more energy and bounce in their step coming out of halftime."
-- Nets coach Avery Johnson

THE STAT: The Cavaliers made an NBA season-high 16 3-pointers on just 26 attempts (61.5 percent). Gibson buried 5-of-7 tries, while Kyrie Irving and Alonzo Gee joined Jamison with a trio of triples. "I'm still not convinced totally that we're a 3-point shooting team," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "But I think we have some guys that are capable of knocking down some threes on a consistent basis." The Cavaliers were 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) beyond the arc in the second half.

TURNING POINT: With New Jersey leading 52-45 two minutes into the third quarter, Irving made long 3-pointers on consecutive Cavaliers possessions. The first overall pick in the NBA Draft not only ignited the crowd, he ignited his entire team, which ended the game on a 53-30 run. "This is a great win for us," said Irving, who finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. "It feels good to finally be on the board making NBA threes and helping my team."

QUOTABLE II: "We had a tough second half. We couldn't execute, but they did. We didn't help each other rotate on defense. We gave them wide-open looks, and they made them."
-- Mehmet Okur

HOT: Gibson is shooting a scorching .692 on 3-pointers to start the season, making 9-of-13 tries. "Boobie" is 14-of-26 on total field goal attempts (.538) and a perfect 2-of-2 from the foul line. "Coach Scott reminded me that every time I come in, there's never a guarantee how many minutes I'll play, and that I need to just dog whoever I'm playing against," Gibson said. "So I just try to make it a miserable night for whoever is in front of me."

NOT: Williams had his third six-turnover game of the season and is averaging 4.80 giveaways per game. He also shot 6-of-16 from the floor, which actually raised his field goal percentage to .375 on the campaign. "Moving forward, it's gonna be hard to start both point guards (Williams and Sundiata Gaines)," Johnson said. "It takes an enormous amount of energy for Deron to work defensively against those twos (shooting guards)."

QUOTABLE III: "If you're shooting a lot of stand-up, uncontested shots, your percentage is going to be a lot better. I'm not one to talk, though, since I missed all (four) of my 3-pointers tonight."
-- Cavaliers shooting guard Anthony Parker

GOOD MOVE: Johnson only gave guard MarShon Brooks, who entered the night as the NBA's top scoring rookie, 12 minutes off the bench. Brooks missed all three of his shots, failed to score, and looked out of sync at both ends of the court. "He just wasn't at his best tonight," Johnson said. "Things defensively gave him a few problems, but he'll bounce back."

BAD MOVE: The Nets went right at Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson four times early in the fourth period. The rookie from Texas responded by blocking all four New Jersey shots, though one of them was ruled goaltending. "When Tristan came in, he brought a new energy," Irving said. "It feels good to have another rookie contributing off the bench."

NOTABLE: The Cavaliers largest margin of victory last season was 12 points. Both of their wins in 2011-2012 have been by 16 points. ... Gibson, Jamison and Irving combined to go 8-of-8 on 3-pointers in the second half. ... Nets power forward Kris Humphries set career highs in free throws made (9) and attempted (11). He also was lustily jeered throughout the first half by the Cleveland crowd, likely because of his brief marriage to reality television star Kim Kardashian. ... Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while Cleveland point guard Ramon Sessions had a team season-best eight assists.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Monday vs. Indiana, Wednesday @ Boston, Friday @ Toronto. For the Cavaliers, Tuesday vs. Charlotte, Wednesday @ Toronto, Friday @ Minnesota.

• Nets: Lopez, Williams
• Cavaliers: Erden, Thompson

• Nets: --
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #36 David Jones, #29 Mark Lindsay, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 15084
• Duration: 2:09