Varejao's miraculous 3-pointer a big gift for LeBron, Cavs 101 - 106

Dec 30, 2009

Anderson Varejao gave LeBron James a birthday present James won't likely soon forget. It came in the form of Varejao's first career 3-pointer, with the shot clock winding down and the game on the line. Best of all for the Cleveland, it all but put the finishing touches on a 106-101 win over visiting Atlanta -- the Cavs' second victory over the Hawks in two nights. Varejao is known in Cleveland as Wild Thing, and his big basket was exactly the type you would expect from him: a wild shot off a wild play in a wild game. With the score tied at 101, James passed to Mo Williams at the top of the key. Williams dribbled, lost the ball, then regrouped and barely got it back. He was tightly guarded and had no chance at a shot. With two seconds left on the shot clock and 18 left in the game, Williams passed to an open Varejao on the perimeter. For the Cavs (26-8), it was desperation time. The only thing Varejao could do was let it fly. So he did -- and it hit nothing but net with 17.2 seconds left. At first, it appeared his toe was on the arc and the shot was initially ruled a two-pointer. But after further review from officials, it was ruled a three.

Varejao's shot was a nice gift for James, who celebrated his 25th birthday Wednesday with a his first NBA win on his birthday. But as far as James was concerned, Varejao owed him one. "That was a great gift," James said. "I had Andy in the (holiday) gift exchange and he paid me back. That's what friends are for." Varejao's shot overshadowed an abundance of storylines, beginning with James himself. After all, James scored a season-high 48 points on a sizzling 15-of-23 shooting. He also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and dished six assists, offering further proof that without James, unlikely game-winning threes wouldn't even be in the equation. But thanks to LeBron, they were. And thanks to his teammates' ability to rise to the occasion, the Cavs have now won 11 straight at home and six in a row overall. Perhaps most impressive, they are now 8-2 against teams with 20 or more victories. It's no wonder the Cavs were poking fun at the 6-foot-11 Varejao's miracle shot after the game. "It went exactly the way we drew it up," James joked. "I was the first option, Mo was the second. We decided that Mo and I would be decoys, and let the shot clock run down 23 seconds, and have Andy take the shot." Said a smiling Varejao: "All I could do was shoot the ball and I'm glad it went in." Meanwhile, the Hawks (21-10) were considerably less jubilant, especially after a shot clock issue robbed them of some possession time with 1:41 left in the game. Following a miss by Williams, the Hawks rebounded the ball but the shot clock failed to reset. That left them with just 19 seconds (as opposed to 24) to get off a shot. They did, but James stripped the ball away from Hawks center Al Horford. At the time, the Hawks led 99-98.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said his team will file a protest. "Let the league review it at the two-minute mark and see what they think," Woodson said. "We've got a one-point lead with the ball, and we're rushing to get a shot because the clock is not in our favor. You figure it out." Either way, the Hawks certainly had their chances. They played with more energy early, scored 64 points in the first half and led by as many as 17 in the third quarter. They also got 35 points from guard Joe Johnson, who practically matched James when it came to superstar plays. "This is definitely a game we should have won," Johnson said. "We had some unfortunate events that happened out there on the court, but it happens. Unfortunately, we have to deal with it." Varejao and Williams each scored 14 points for the Cavs, with Williams adding 10 assists. Shaquille O'Neal scored 11 and the Hawks' Mike Bibby added 20 points and six assists.

Bibby missed a three-pointer that could have tied the game with 2.5 seconds left, and Cavs forward Jamario Moon grabbed the rebound. Moon was immediately fouled and made both free throws to complete the scoring. "It feels good," James said. "You go out there and you play as hard as you can. I can't ask for any better birthday gift than what my teammates gave me."

NBA News Central