Hickson continues to provide punch as Cavs tip Jazz 103 - 107

Nov 14, 2009

The Cleveland Cavaliers once had a Carlos Boozer in the lineup and now they hope to have found another. And they put those hopes to the test Saturday night against none other than Boozer himself. The subject in question is second-year power forward J.J. Hickson, who made his fourth consecutive start in the Cavs' thrilling 107-103 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz. Hickson spent most of the evening matched up with Boozer, a one-time promising Cavalier who has yet to be forgiven by Cleveland fans after he bolted for Utah in 2004. Since Boozer's departure, the Cavs have struggled to arm LeBron James with a consistent scoring power forward who can get to the rim and pull down rebounds. Hickson isn't there yet, but following his career-high 20-point performance Saturday, he very well could be on his way. "He's filling his role and playing off of others," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "He has to be guarded because of his athleticism. He can drive the ball, shoot the ball and post up. Our guys have confidence in him and he's producing."

It was Hickson's second straight big night, as he scored 18 points in a win at Miami on Thursday. For what it's worth, the Cavs are 4-0 since Hickson has been inserted into the starting lineup, including 3-0 on the road. As a team, they have won seven of eight following an 0-2 start. This one came without center Shaquille O'Neal, who sat out to rest a strained shoulder. But all that seemed to mean was more of an opportunity for other veteran newcomers such as forward Jamario Moon and guard Anthony Parker. Moon and Parker made the most of their chances, by staying active on defense and hitting a couple of big shots. Moon finished with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting; Parker had 14 on 5-for-7. Of course, not to be lost in the impressive showing by the young and the new were the performances of old standbys such as James (21 points, nine assists, six rebounds) and Mo Williams (21 points, six assists). Williams has been feeling it since the Cavs' big win in Orlando on Nov. 11, and you can count his hot hand among the reasons this team suddenly has the look of a championship contender again. As for the Jazz, the odds were clearly against them. Injury and illness left them with just nine players, and they were coming off a hard-fought win the previous night in Philadelphia.

Among the missing was starting point guard Deron Williams, who wasn't with the team for the second straight night because of personal reasons. Still, the Jazz fought valiantly behind the staples of every Jerry Sloan-coached unit, implementing tons of hustle and plain old guts to keep things close. No one exemplified those characteristics more than Boozer, who practically willed the ball into the basket in finishing with 25 points, to go along with a game-high 12 boards. And if nothing else, the Jazz showed the world they have a couple of good ones in rookie guards Eric Maynor and Wesley Matthews, both of whom started and played at least 34 minutes. Maynor ran the team to near-perfection in finishing with 24 points, earning a congratulatory pat on the back from James after the final buzzer. Matthews had 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers. "In the first quarter, it looked like we didn't think we could win, but at least we got back in it," Sloan said. "Eric did a tremendous job of getting us in our offense. He gave us opportunities." Sloan spoke the truth, as the Jazz actually had several chances to win it -- taking their first lead (97-96) with 1:56 left on a pair of Boozer free throws.

The lead alternated after that, with Utah holding a 101-100 edge with 33 seconds left. But then James proved why he's the reigning MVP, taking over the game and scoring on a drive to the basket in which he also got fouled at the 28-second mark. He hit the ensuing free throw, and while the Cavs may have had to bite their nails in nervousness, they never trailed again. Not long after James' heroic basket, Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko missed a long 3-pointer. The Jazz were forced to foul, and James made two more foul shots with 20 seconds left. He then made two more to seal the deal in the final 10 seconds. "It's tough," Boozer said. "They had a big lead on us but we stayed with it. It'll be hard to sleep with this one because we had a chance to win."

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