Cavaliers-Bobcats Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 04 2013 12:38AM

The Charlotte Bobcats are not just content with ending one of the longest losing streaks in franchise history.

They'll next try to snap a 10-game home skid Friday night when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Charlotte went a little more than a month between victories but finally snapped its 18-game losing streak Monday with a 91-81 victory at Chicago, holding the Bulls to 35.1 percent shooting. The Bobcats' skid was the second-longest in franchise history behind the 23 consecutive losses to end last season.

"We just don't want it to happen again. We just want to go out there and continue to do what we did against Chicago," said guard Kemba Walker, who had a team-best 18 points. "We played great defense so hopefully we can keep playing like that and staying together. Hopefully, we can also rack up some wins."

Having already topped their win total from last season, the Bobcats (8-23) hope to earn their first home victory since Nov. 21 and end a string of four straight losses to the Cavaliers (7-26). Charlotte lost three times to Cleveland last season en route to finishing 7-59, the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106).

With Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters emerging as a high-scoring young backcourt tandem, the Cavaliers may have enough to keep their win streak over the Bobcats going. Cleveland, though, has lost three in a row overall, giving up an average of 100.7 points during that skid after yielding fewer than 85 in back-to-back road wins.

The Cavaliers couldn't hold on to a slim lead late in Wednesday's 97-94 home loss to Sacramento.

Irving had a team-best 22 points but committed a key turnover with 38 seconds left. Waiters - taken fourth overall in the 2012 draft, two spots after Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - came off the bench for the first time as a pro and had 20 points.

"It's just a learning process," Irving said. "We did a great job of competing in the fourth quarter and getting stops when we needed to, but one mistake by myself when I slip in the middle of the lane, it's a turnover. ... That's the game."

Irving averaged 22.5 points and made 17 of 26 shots (65.4 percent) in two appearances against the Bobcats last season, scoring a game-high 25 in a 102-94 victory in Charlotte on Jan. 16. An injured right shoulder kept him out of the most recent meeting between the teams, a 103-90 home win for Cleveland on April 10.

Anderson Varejao will be out for Friday's matchup, with the NBA's leading rebounder missing his eighth straight game due to a bruised right knee. That should allow rookie Tyler Zeller to start in his first professional game in North Carolina, where he starred for the Tar Heels.

Zeller is averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in seven starts in place of Varejao, who didn't travel with the team. Reserve guard Daniel Gibson (concussion) also stayed in Cleveland.

Kidd-Gilchrist is listed as a game-time decision for Charlotte after he missed the win over the Bulls with a scratched cornea.

Irving scores 33, lifts Cavs over Bobcats 106-104

By STEVE REED
Posted Jan 04 2013 11:00PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Kyrie Irving feels he's at his best when the fourth quarter begins.

He certainly was Friday night.

Irving scored 16 of his game-high 33 points in the final period, including a pull-up jumper from the foul line with one second left, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Charlotte Bobcats 106-104 and snap a three-game losing streak.

Irving scored 16 of his team's final 18 points in the fourth quarter.

"I kind of got in a zone and kept it going," Irving said. "And they kept feeding me."

With the game tied and 16 seconds left, everyone in the crowd knew who was going to take the last shot for the Cavaliers.

"Those are the moments I kind of live for," Irving said.

Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap chose to defend Irving with rookie Jeffery Taylor, a 6-foot-7 forward known for his defense. Taylor stayed with him at first, cautiously giving him room before Irving stutter-stepped and pulled back to launch a jumper from the right elbow.

Irving said he didn't know what move he'd try to make, but when the shot left his hands there was no doubt in his mind it was going in.

"I just read the defense," Irving said. "He's taller than me but he won't stop me from getting where I need to go. I just created space and shot my pull-up."

Irving finished 10 of 21 from the field and converted all 10 free throws to go along with six assists, five rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.

Tristan Thompson added 19 points and C.J. Miles added 18 for the Cavaliers.

"He has that look in his eye every fourth quarter," Miles said of Irving. "In the Brooklyn game he walked into the huddle and told us `The fourth quarter is mine.' What am I going to say, `No?' But he's been a fourth-quarter guy since he's been in the league. He has a mental thing where he has another level, another gear which helps him make big shots."

Charlotte's Gerald Henderson said it's difficult to stop Irving in that type of game-winning situation.

"It's tough because you never know what shot he is going to take," Henderson said. "He can make any shot. So, you know how good he is off the dribble so you want to give him a little cushion, but you can't really give him that much because you know he can shoot the lights out of the ball.

"You just have to toy with him and move your feet and guess a little bit and also rely on help from your teammates but he is special. He really is special because he can score in so many ways."

Ben Gordon led Charlotte's second-half charge, finishing with 27 points.

Ramon Sessions added 20 points and Henderson had 17, including a career-high four 3-pointers for the Bobcats, who have lost 19 of 20.

The Cavs led by as many as 18 in the third quarter but the Bobcats battled back to take the lead at 91-90 with 4:43 left when Gordon knocked down a step-back jumper and a floater and Sessions hit a pair of free throws.

Irving answered seconds later with a 3-pointer to give the Cavaliers the lead back.

He was just getting started.

He knocked down another 3-pointer on the next possession and put his finger to his lip to silence the crowd.

The Bobcats rallied and Henderson tied the game with a turnaround jumper in the lane with 16 seconds left.

After Irving's jumper, Henderson got a good look on the ensuing inbounds play, but his desperation 3-pointer hit the rim and fell away.

"Our guys never seem to make it easy on us," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "You know that is one thing I told them, We have to figure out how to have a killer instinct when you have a team down like that, don't relax and just allow them to get back in the game. I thought that is what we did."

The Bobcats came in looking for their first two-game win streak since Nov. 21 after snapping an 18-game losing streak Monday night with a 91-81 win against the Chicago Bulls.

Charlotte committed 10 turnovers in the first half leading to eight Cavaliers points and fell behind 62-48 at the break.

"The lesson learned here is we can't come out flat as a tack and give up those kind of points early," Dunlap said.

NOTES: Charlotte forward Tyrus Thomas returned after missing the past 23 games with a left calf strain. He played 12 minutes and scored four points. ... The Cavaliers only played eight players and Charlotte's bench outscored Cleveland's 59-19. It was only the third time in franchise history two players scored 20-plus points off the bench. ... It was the third time this season Irving has had 30 or more points in a game.

Notebook: Cavaliers 106, Bobcats 104

Derek S. Smith, For NBA.com
Posted Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:59 PM - Updated Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:59 PM

THE FACTS: Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 33 points and sank his fourth career game-winning shot as the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Charlotte Bobcats Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena for a 106-104 victory. Ben Gordon had 27 off the bench for the Bobcats, who have lost 19 of their last 20 contests.

QUOTABLE: "I was just trying to ice the game. I waited until there were five seconds left on the clock and luckily that was enough to make the shot. I felt like I couldn't mess up. It's the confidence that I have in myself and the confidence that my coaches and teammates have in me to give me the ball at the end of games. They confidence I was going to make the shot and I did. It was a great team win for us. These are the type of games we need."

-- Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving

THE STAT: Cleveland (8-26) was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Irving made all six of his attempts and Tristan Thompson, a 61-percent shooter on the season, made his only two tries to hold off the pesky Bobcats (8-24). For the game, Cleveland made 21 of its 29 attempts.

TURNING POINT: Charlotte's Gerald Henderson tied the game at 104-all with 16.0 seconds to play on a hook shot in the lane, and then Cleveland called timeout to advance the ball. There was no doubt whose hands the ball would end up in. The four other Cavs players aligned themselves on the baseline and allowed Irving to match up with Charlotte rookie Jeffery Taylor. Irving calmly dribbled down the clock and rose over Taylor to sink the 12-foot jumper to seal the win.

HOT: Irving scored 16 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter including two clutch 3-pointers late in the period. Irving was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and made 10 of his 21 shots from the field. He added six assists, five rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. It was his third game of the season with at least 30 points. His three blocked shots were a career best.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: C.J. Miles has stepped his game up of late for Cleveland. The shooting guard had 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting in the win over Charlotte including sinking 4 of his 9 3-pointers. Over the last three games he is averaging 21.0 points and is shooting 50 percent from behind the arc (13-for-26). He has scored in double figures in 14 of his last 16 games.

GOOD MOVE: Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap chose to play the hot hands in the fourth quarter and that meant leaving his leading scorer on the bench. Kemba Walker scored 11 points Friday, but didn't enter the game at all in the final quarter. Instead, Dunlap allowed Gordon and Ramon Sessions to play the entirety of the quarter. The duo sparked a Charlotte comeback and scored 23 of the team's 30 points as Gordon finished with 27 and Sessions had 20. It was the third time in franchise history that a pair of players off the bench scored 20 or more points in the same game.

ROOKIE WATCH: There were a slew of productive games from rookies Friday. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist came off the bench to score seven points, grab nine rebounds and dish out two assists. Taylor stated in place of him and scored 11 points and added two rebounds. For the Cavs, Tyler Zeller had nine points and five rebounds and blocked three shots. Dion Waiters came off the bench to scored nine points in 18 minutes of action.

NOTABLE: Tyrus Thomas returned to the court for the first time since mid-November and scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in 13 minutes of action. ... Gordon is averaging 16.5 points over the last four games. ... Sessions was 12-for-12 from the free-throw line tying the third most free-throw attempts without a miss in franchise history. ... Gerald Henderson had a career-best four 3-point baskets. ... Thompson's 19 points were a season high. He grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. ... Shaun Livingston had a season-high five assists and tied his season-high with two steals.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Saturday vs. Houston, Monday @ Chicago, Wednesday vs. Atlanta. For the Bobcats, Sunday @ Detroit, Wednesday vs. Utah, Friday @ Toronto.

• Cavaliers: Gibson, Leuer, Varejao
• Bobcats: Mullens

• Cavaliers: --
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #74 Curtis Blair, #26 Pat Fraher
• Attendance: 15576
• Duration: 2:16