LeBron, Cavs avoid huge upset
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers keep rolling along.
James scored 32 points to lead the Cavaliers to their 12th
straight win Tuesday night, a 104-97 victory over the New Jersey
Nets. The win gives Cleveland the longest winning streak in the NBA
this season. The Cavaliers (42-11) also have the best record in the
league.
James, who was named the Eastern Conference's player of the
week for the fifth time this season Monday, was 13-of-21 from the
field with 11 assists and three rebounds.
"He's an amazing player and keeps getting better and better,"
New Jersey coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. "There aren't accolades to
describe his game."
There have been few accolades to describe how well Cleveland
has played lately. Besides their winning streak, the Cavaliers are
a league-best 23-3 at home, winning 10 straight and 21 of 22.
"It's impressive no matter what league you're in, no matter
who you're playing against," James said. "To have a 12-game winning
streak against the best competition in the world is impressive.
Hopefully we can continue that on Thursday."
James was referring to Cleveland's next game when Orlando
visits Quicken Loans Arena in a rematch of last season's Eastern
Conference Finals, which the Magic won in six games.
While the Nets held the lead for most of the first quarter
and were within four points late in the third period, New Jersey's
miserable season continued. The Nets (4-47) have the NBA's worst
record and have lost seven straight. New Jersey played without
point guard Devin Harris, who has a sprained left shoulder.
Courtney Lee led the Nets with 24 points.
Nets swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts, who averages 12.2
points, was benched Tuesday night. He left Saturday's game with
back spasms, but Vandeweghe said he wanted to look at other
players.
Douglas-Roberts, who has expressed displeasure with his role,
showed up expecting to play.
"You get surprised a lot in the league. It is what it is,"
Douglas-Roberts said. "Things don't work out all the time. I guess
I'm out of the rotation."
Douglas-Roberts doesn't plan on complaining to Vandeweghe.
"Absolutely not. I don't think talks really do anything,"
Douglas-Roberts said. "I've probably had the most talks with him on
the team. But they don't do nothing."
Even James is puzzled about the Nets' woes.
"They have a lot of talent," he said. "I think Brook Lopez
one day will be an all-star. Devin Harris one day could be an
all-star. They have good talent. I don't see why they are where
they are at this point in the season."
Jawad Willams scored a career-high 17 points while Anderson
Varejao added 15 for Cleveland.
The Nets built an eight-point lead in the first quarter
thanks primarily to 11 points by Jarvis Hayes, who hit three
3-pointers. Cleveland scored the last seven points of the quarter
and went ahead for good early in the second period.
The Cavaliers' spurt was capped when with a highlight reel
play at both ends of the court. It began when Shaquille O'Neal
blocked Lopez's shot at the basket. The 7-foot-1, 325-pound center
grabbed the ball and dribbled up the floor before finding James on
the wing. James made a perfect alley-oop pass to Varejao, who
finished the play with a dunk, bringing the crowd to its feet.
O'Neal then gave Varejao a resounding chest bump and the Nets
called timeout.
"It was good. It surprised all of us," James said. "He
doesn't dunk the ball a lot and he doesn't catch lobs at all. For
him to go up there and catch it was surprising and definitely a
momentum builder at that point."
James converted his own dunk off a lob pass from Daniel
Gibson moments later.
The Cavaliers led by six points at halftime and stretched the
margin to 10 on two occasions. The Nets cut the lead to four late
in the period, but the Cavaliers put the game away with away with a
13-2 run to start the fourth quarter. Jawad Williams hit two
3-pointers while James added a 3-pointer and a fast break dunk,
which built the lead to 91-74.
James scored 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers
pulled away.
"You know if you stick around for three quarters, he's going
to assert himself in the fourth," Lopez said.
Lopez scored 23 points and Hayes added 19 for the Nets.
The Nets have lost 15 straight on the road and are 1-27 away
from home.
NOTES: Cleveland is 3-0 against New Jersey this season and
has won seven straight in the series. ... Cleveland played without
guard Delonte West (broken left finger) for the ninth straight
game. ... Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were hit with technical
fouls for arguing with an official. ... The Nets are hopeful
Harris, who is averaging 15.8 points and 6.3 assists, can return
Wednesday against Milwaukee.