Nets hang tough, but Cavs take control in second half 89 - 99

Dec 15, 2009

If there's one positive New Jersey can take from its 99-89 road loss to Cleveland on Tuesday, it's that the starters were still in at the end. That's not to intended to trash the Nets, who can point to things such as youth, injuries and an offseason makeover to justify their wretched start.

Rather, it's to show that even a team like the Nets, with their 2-23 record, is capable of battling and improving. Who cares that the Nets were playing a team considered to be among the league's elite? The Nets turned this into an ugly, plodding affair -- which is pretty much what needed to happen if they were to have a chance. So they slowed it down, pounded the ball inside to center Brook Lopez, and let him do his thing. It was a strategy that did the trick early, as Lopez scored 20 points in the first half and the Nets shot a whopping 23 free throws. But the Cavaliers are a championship contender for a reason, and much of it has to do with their ability to take away what the opponent is doing well. "[The Nets] got a lot of their points (18) from the line in the first half," said Cavs guard Anthony Parker. "It took us out of our rhythm. So we wanted to keep being physical without all the fouling in the second half." The Cavs (18-7) did exactly that, as the Nets took just six foul shots and Lopez scored just two points in the final two quarters combined.

"We got the win," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "It was an ugly, slow game, but we'll take it." When you consider how this game was played, it should come as no surprise that the most discussed moment of the night wasn't a Shaquille O'Neal dunk or LeBron James look-away pass, but a foul committed by Nets' guard Devin Harris. Harris practically (and accidentally) almost took off the head of Cavs forward Jamario Moon as Moon rose for a breakaway dunk. That came with 3:48 remaining in the game and resulted in a flagrant-two foul and automatic ejection for Harris. James quickly approached and wrapped his arms around Harris underneath the basket, but it was clear no one intended to fight. In fact, no one really seemed the least bit upset by it, including Moon. "I don't have a beef with anyone in the league," Moon said. "I don't feel like it was intentional. It wasn't that bad. It wasn't as bad as it looked." Nets interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe agreed. "I really thought Devin was just trying to stop [Moon] from scoring," Vandeweghe said. "He got him in an unfortunate place and I understand the call. But I think Devin's intent was to just stop him from scoring." O'Neal was involved in the aftermath, rushing to the scene but seemingly with the intent to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

"It was a hard foul, so I just wanted to make sure nobody got into a squabble," O'Neal said. "There was a grab here, a grab there, everywhere a grab-grab." As for the rest of the game, the Cavs shot a sizzling 58 percent (39-for-67) from the floor -- but just 63 percent (17-for-27) from the free-throw line. They also committed 14 turnovers, compared to just eight for the Nets. In other words, the focus and consistency issues continue for the team that finished with the league's best regular-season record last year. "It's something we have to continue trying to figure out," Brown said. "We talked about it this morning at shootaround. Of our seven losses, five have come against sub.-500 teams. Hopefully, in time and no matter who we're facing, we'll do what we need to get a win. We want to play at a high level, but also a consistent level."

James led the Cavs with team highs of 23 points and seven assists. O'Neal and backup center Zydrunas Ilgauskas each scored 16, and Mo Williams added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. For the Nets, Lopez grabbed 15 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Harris also scored 22 and Rafer Alston had 20 off the bench. "I thought guys gave great effort," Harris said. "I thought the ball moved and we attacked them with the pick-and-roll. We just didn't get enough stops at the end. ... [But] that's the kind of effort we need."

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