Author: John Blake (Page 67 of 68)

The Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls 92-71 Sunday night, completing a four game season sweep. They blew the game open to start the fourth quarter, scoring 11 straight points to put the Bulls away. LeBron James carried the Cavaliers, scoring 27 of his 37 points in the second half. Anderson Varejao provided the spark and energy off the bench, grabbing 13 rebounds.

The Cavs are starting another winning streak, but forgive me if I don’t get too excited. After all, it was the Bulls both games. However, it is important that the Cavaliers take care of business and beat up on the sub .500 teams in order to maintain their position in the four spot. And on another note, where in the world is Sasha Pavlovic? Our bench has been struggling the last couple of weeks and Sasha could give us a lift in that department but he’s not getting any consistent minutes.

When the word “clutch” comes to mind, nobody on the Cavaliers has fit that description the last five games. Until Thursday night. With less than four seconds remaining, the newly acquired Ronald “Flip” Murray drained a three-pointer to send the Cavs to victory, beating the Chicago Bulls, 92-91.

“My man came off me to slide over on LeBron,” Murray said. “He left me wide open.”

The Cavaliers held a 25 point lead but let the Bulls tie it up late in the fourth quarter. Flip, who finished with 13 points, hit the biggest shot of the game to snap the Cavaliers’ five game losing streak. LeBron James scored 33 points for the Cavs and was two assists shy of a triple double.

This game never should have come down to the final seconds but a win is a win. The Cavaliers desperately needed this, as we all know. Maybe a last second victory is just what this club needs to get them jump started.

It’s starting to get a little ugly now. The Cavaliers got beat again Wednesday night, this time to the Sacramento Kings, 97-90. The defeat extends their losing streak to five, including their third straight at home. Cleveland started slowly but jumped out to a 14 point lead early in the second quarter. However, with the help of some good shooting by the Kings and defensive lapses by the Cavs, Sacramento put up 35 points in the third quarter. And as has been the case for the last several games, the Cavaliers struggled to take charge and execute in the fourth quarter. Sacramento, using only a seven man rotation, had all players in double figures. For the Cavaliers, James, Ilgauskas, and Murray all scored 19.

Getting beat by Detroit twice was tough to take, but let’s face it, they are the best team in the East. But tonight’s loss, frankly, was unacceptable especially considering the Cavaliers’ large lead early on. In a game we needed in the worst way, we struggled again down the stretch against a team who is 11 games under .500 on the road. The team knows about last year’s collapse and they definitely are pressing.

“Right now, it’s all, ‘Here we go again,'” Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall said. “Obviously, with the talk of last year, we try not to let that affect us, but I think it’s affecting us right now.”

The good news is the Cavaliers don’t have to face the Pistons again for almost a month and a half. The bad news is Cleveland’s grasp on the fourth playoff spot is getting weaker by the day. They are now tied with the Indiana Pacers in the loss column. The Cavaliers hung tough with Detroit through three quarters, but couldn’t do much of anything in the fourth, losing 84-72 Monday night at the Q. In the final quarter, the Cavaliers could only muster up 9 points. Rasheed Wallace led the Pistons with 24 points and Richard Hamilton had 22. LeBron James had 26 for the Cavs and Ilgauskas added 18 points and 15 boards. LeBron bluntly summed up the fourth quarter.

“They did a great job of executing in the fourth quarter and we didn’t,” James said.

The game could have been a lot closer if the Cavaliers hit some of their threes. Take out Sasha’s couple three-pointers and the Cavs were 0 for 11 from beyond the arc. Donyell Marshall, a 40% three point shooter the last four seasons, is nearly 10 points below that average this season. And then there’s the human catapult, Damon Jones, who continues to throw up goose eggs.