2014 Global Games

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For the first three-and-a-half quarters at the HSBC Center in Rio de Janeiro, the focus was on the celebration of Anderson Varejao’s return to Brazil, LeBron James’ first matchup against his former team and the celebration of NBA hoops on an international level. Then things got serious.

With the Cavs starters taking the rest of the night off after having helped build a 19-point lead, Miami mounted a furious comeback to close out the fourth quarter on a 29-10 run to tie the game at 105-apiece and send the preseason contest into overtime.

The Heat took their first lead of the game in that extra-session when Shabazz Napier opened the scoring with a driving layup . But reserve point guard A.J. Price canned a trio of three-pointers in overtime and another reserve, Stephen Holt, drilled a trey with 39.4 to play that gave the Cavaliers back the lead for good. Joe Harris sunk a pair of free throws with 13.2 remaining to seal the 122-119 victory.

Before the late drama, Cleveland’s starters were impressive on both ends of the floor.

The Cavaliers led by six after one quarter and upped their edge to 15 at intermission. Miami cut Cleveland’s lead to seven early in the fourth quarter, but three-pointers from Joe Harris and James Jones extended the Cavs’ lead back to double-digits before the Heat reserves went to work.

Much had been made, rightfully so, about Cleveland’s offseason bounty. And newcomer, Kevin Love, did lead the Wine and Gold with 25 points – going 9-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from long-distance. But it was the returning Cavaliers – namely Dion Waiters, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson – who did much of the heavy lifting in Saturday’s white-knuckle win.

Saturday’s game started the way it had to – with the local hero, Varejao, taking a bounce pass from LeBron James and canning a 17-footer from just right of the foul line – sending the crowd at the HSBC Arena in Rio into an early frenzy. Minutes later, James tapped a touch-pass off a rebound to Varejao, who scored on a layup.

Andy finished the first quarter with a team-leading eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and would go on to score 12 of his 14 points in the first half. After the starters gave way to the reserves in the second stanza, Varejao made a pair of curtain calls while the crowd chanted his name.

Overall, the arena – which had sold out three hours after announcing ticket sales – was about 50 percent Heat, 50 percent Cavaliers and 100 percent Varejao.

Tristan Thompson came off Cleveland’s bench on a mission – netting 18 points, nine boards and a game-high three steals.

Waiters followed up with 16 points, going 7-of-12 from the floor to go with three boards, three assists and team-high two blocked shots – including a swat of Dwyane Wade’s layup attempt at the end of the first half.

LeBron James didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in the win – going just 2-for-8 from the floor – but by the midway point of the third quarter, had as many assists as the entire Heat squad.

Matthew Dellavedova got the start in place of Kyrie Irving, who tweaked his ankle in practice on Friday. In 33 minutes, Delly notched three points, six boards and four helpers.

After five days in Rio, the Wine and Gold get back stateside on Sunday morning. But they have a busy week ahead of them upon their return. The Cavs welcome Milwaukee to The Q on Tuesday night and head to Cincinnati on Wednesday to face the Pacers before Dallas comes to Cleveland for a Friday night affair.

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Cavs Win Thriller in Brazil

Cavs.com

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Cavaliers vs. Heat - 2014 NBA Global Games

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NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2014 - NBA Global Games 2014-15, which tips off today, includes a total of nine NBA teams playing seven regular-season and preseason games in seven cities in six countries.

The five preseason games will feature the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs playing a series of games in Brazil, China, Germany, and Turkey from Oct. 8 – 15.  NBA Global Games will continue in the regular season with the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves playing at the Mexico City Arena on Nov. 12, and the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks at The O2 on Jan. 15.

The following is a look at NBA Global Games 2014-15 by the numbers:

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NBA Global Game 2014-15 By the Numbers

The Cavaliers spent their first full day in Brazil, but there wasn’t much time for chilling on the beach. After a trip to the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue on Thursday morning, the squad made its way to the Flamengo practice court in Rio. After an NBA Cares basketball clinic, the Wine and Gold got after one another for an afternoon workout.

* Before the remainder of the squad arrived at the Flamengo Club, six Cavaliers – Anderson Varejao, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Shawn Marion, Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Harris – conducted a basketball clinic (with Miami Heat players doing the same on the other end of the floor). Andy, once again the main attraction, addressed the youngsters before they took the court.

Once they did, it was a blast for the kids. One of the highlights was a layup line, in which they had to dribble through Love on one side and Kyrie on the other, each taking turns trying to steal the ball. On one offering, Love broke away and playfully swatted one boy’s layup attempt – bowing up and flexing afterward. That’s a memory that teenager will have for the rest of his life.

* On the way to  the gym, or the beachside team photo, or basically anywhere the team travels in Rio, there’s a four or five motorcycle police escort. It’s pretty cool to watch the cops – weaving in and out of traffic on their bikes – heading off traffic at intersections and cutting a swath for the team bus to roll through Rio.

* Channeling SI’s Peter King, here’s a story that might interest only me. The great Gary Payton, who now works with the league and was on-hand for the pre-practice basketball clinic, once stole my Jimmy Cleamons rookie card. It was the season that he and Karl Malone had joined the Lakers. Jim Cleamons was one of L.A.’s assistant coaches and after shootaround at The Q, I walked down to the floor to meet Cleamons and ask him about the Miracle of Richfield team. When I showed him his card – high-shorts, muttonchops and all – he laughed out loud. Payton came over to the scorer’s table where we were talking, laughed along with us, then took the card to show his teammates. That was the last I ever saw of it.

What was I supposed to do? Shake down the Glove and Shaquille O’Neal to get my card back?

* Kyrie Irving has traveled to four continents in the past two years, so he’s had his share of different types of cuisine. On Thursday I asked him about his dietary habits abroad.

”I call myself ‘the lab rat’; I’m the lab rat of the team,” explained the reigning All-Star Game MVP. “In different countries – whether I’m with my friends or my family – I’ll try anything and everything. One, just to say I did it. Two, for myself, just for the experience. Anything you can think of – within reason – food, activities, anything. I’ll do anything, eat anything – just to say I did it.”

* After a light practice on the Tuesday night the team left for Brazil and a day off on Wednesday, the Cavs got after it pretty good on the practice floor at Flamengo. There were some really good, competitive matchups brewing on Thursday – including Tristan Thompson and Love, LeBron James and Shawn Marion and Varejao v. Brendan Haywood.

* Naturally, the local and international media was curious about LeBron’s thoughts on both the country of Brazil and one of its favorite sons – Anderson Varejao.

“(Brazil) is a great place,” praised James. “They’re very passionate about sports, they’re passionate about their country and their loved ones. I know they’re happy to see Anderson here and I’m excited to be part of it.”

When asked about whether Andy’s presence on the Cavs was a factor in his return, James replied: “I was happy when I decided to make my decision that he was still part of this team. He was a huge part of our success in my years here before and he’ll be a huge part of our success going forward.”

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Scenes from Rio: Day Two

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Cavaliers in Brazil - NBA Global Games

The Cavaliers practiced at Cleveland Clinic Courts before they departed for Brazil for this year’s NBA Global Games. And they’ll practice again on Thursday and Friday in preparation for Saturday’s preseason matchup with the Heat. But on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, it was a chance to get away from hoops for a day and take in some scenery.

* The Cavaliers were originally scheduled to make a trip to see the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue which literally lords over Rio from atop the Corcovado Mountain. But an electrical problem prevented the squad from doing so. Instead, much of the team (the ones who don’t have a problem with extreme heights) made the journey to Pao de Acucar, or Sugar Loaf Mountain.

The journey to the top requires a cable car trip which takes visitors from the bottom (Red Beach) to the midway point (Urca Hill, about 656 feet high) and finally up to Sugar Loaf (about 1,300 feet) – all stretching across the gorgeous panorama of the Guanabara Bay. The cableway system is one of the safest in the world, but Austin Carr was still sweating it out the entire way – all while providing comic relief to rest of the traveling party (which included Kyrie Irving, Coach David Blatt, GM David Griffin, Brendan Haywood, Matthew Delladova and, of course, Anderson Varejao.)

At one point from along the white-knuckle journey, we noticed two workers, on what might be described as a bare-bones maintenance cable car, hung outside the car doing small repairs hundreds of feet above the water. Even Varejao – a veteran of the Sugar Loaf lift and whose nickname is the Wild Thing – had to exclaim: “Oh, HELL no!!”

* Nevermind the Cavaliers, the NBA couldn’t possibly find a better international ambassador than Varejao – a guy who just “gets it.” Andy represents his team, his league and his country with such grace and aplomb that it’s easy to see why he’s beloved in both hemispheres. He stops to shake hands and talk to fans and never refuses to pose for a photo. And he does it all with his trademark smile. Andy’s one of the true good guys of the NBA.

* Before the team departed from Cleveland for Brazil, Coach Blatt relayed the travel advice that Andy had for his teammates: “Pack your Speedos.”

And if you do any amount of walking on Copacabana Beach, you’ll see more than your share of men in Speedos. (No, seriously: MORE than your share.)

* Beachgoers must have been floored (beached?) to see this group of Cavaliers sitting in a row, soaking up oceanfront rays: LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion and James Jones. (Thankfully, they all ignored Varejao’s advice; none of them were wearing Speedos.)

* A friend and fellow Cavs beat writer told me a funny story; it’s worth sharing.

He and his wife arrived a day earlier and were having dinner at one of the cool little beachside cafes along Copacabana Beach. On separate occasions, different kids had approached their table asking for “dinero.” Finally, one little guy came up and got a little too close to said writer and asked for dinero. When the writer refused, the child threw a rock in his drink. A rock!!

I actually hope that happens to me before we leave on Saturday.

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Scenes from Rio: Day One

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