Cavs pitch OT shutout to beat Kings in Sacramento 117 - 104

Dec 23, 2009

LeBron James stood near midcourt at a point in the first half, letting out a sharp statement of frustration after a defensive lapse that led to a Kings basket. He paused, then suddenly -- in the type of play that doesn't give much warning -- sprinted down the sideline into a lead pass and, with a vicious spike, delivered a camera-flashing slam. The play was emblematic of James' ability to flip the switch at any moment. Late in Wednesday night's game in Sacramento, it was his defense that he turned on as the Cavaliers shutout the Kings offense in overtime for a 117-104 victory. "The fourth quarter is when we make our mark defensively," James said. "We hate to keep letting teams get comfortable through the first three quarters. It's a great thing to be able to turn it on defensively like that but we need to figure out how to get that the closest to 48 minutes as possible." James finished with a game typical for the league's premier player, tallying a triple-double of 34 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.

James was relentless in the first half, blending brawny bursts to the basket for highlight finishes with uncontestable step-back jumpers. He finished the half with 26 points and the Cavs led 57-53. But James was much more subdued in the second half, adding just eight more points in the finals two quarters plus overtime, switching gears into a more defensive mode against Kings rookie Tyreke Evans. Evans had 24 points through the first three quarters, before Cavs head coach Mike Brown put James on him defensively and limited the rookie guard to just four points the rest of the way. Brown said it didn't make sense to put James on Evans from the start, but that he knew they would make the move in the fourth quarter. "LeBron has a few more inches and who knows how much more weight," Brown said. "He played him the right way by spacing him and giving him the jump shot, and letting him try to finish over him in the paint. "He did a nice job on him." Evans hasn't been an easy force to stop on the offensive end. Sacramento's No. 4 draft pick continues his pace of averaging 20 points, five assists and five rebounds in his rookie season. He'd be just the fourth rookie in the history of the NBA to post those numbers, the most recent being James. Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson are the other two.

"Tyreke is going to be a great player," James said. "They have an unbelievable guy here in Sacramento they should be excited about." But in overtime, Evans led nothing other than a stagnant offense that failed to score a single point. "Neither team was defending and tonight the first team that stepped up and defended had the best opportunity to win the game and it was us," Brown said. The game that looked destined for a dramatic finish ended as a dud. The Kings offense seemed to stand still, relying on one-on-one basketball and bad shots. "I think we got caught up in one-on-one and trying to get the mismatch rather than running our plays and going through the offense," Evans said. Meanwhile, Cleveland's backup center Zydrunas Ilgauskas stood in the right corner and hit three consecutive 3-pointers to close out the contest. Ilgauskas finished with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and eight rebounds. The Kings had a chance at winning the game at the end of regulation after a defensive rebound and 10 seconds left. Rather than call a timeout, Kings head coach Paul Westphal screamed for an isolation clear out play for Evans. But the play clearing never developed and Evans never got off a clear shot. "We didn't run with what I was wanting us to run and that wasn't Tyreke's fault on that last play," Westphal said.

Evans was perhaps too aggressive looking for points down the stretch, as the young point guard did little to involve teammates. "Did the ball stick in his hands a little bit too much sometimes? Sure. He's not the only one in play," Westphal said. Westphal added, "We want him shooting and we want him attacking, we just want to do it a little bit differently and a little more subtly. That will come." Cleveland point guard Mo Williams went down and quickly reached for his left leg underneath Sacramento's basket following heavy contact with a driving Evans. Williams left the game briefly but returned in the second quarter. Williams came back strong and finished with 27 points in the contest.

NBA News Central