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LeBron scores 41 as Cavs hold off late Blazers rally 106 - 94
January 10, 2010
LeBron James owned the first half Sunday night at the Rose Garden. James scored 31 of his 41 points in the first 24 minutes -- 20 in a first quarter suitable for framing. Even so, the Portland Trail Blazers had their chances, finally falling 106-94 to James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Blazers, who trailed by 17 points in the first half, rallied to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter before getting outscored 17-5 over the final six minutes. Cleveland (29-10) got big contributions from Anderson Varejao and little-used Jawad Williams down the stretch to avoid a second straight loss after a 99-97 defeat at Denver on Friday. It was James at his superstar best that was the difference against Portland. James was 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line in the first quarter, barreling to the basket for several scores, knocking down jumpers over Martell Webster's outstretched hands. He made his first nine shots and finished the first half with 10-for-12 shooting -- 3-for-3 from 3-point rage -- and 31 points, his career high for a first half.
"LeBron just came out from the opening tip a-ggress-ive," Portland point guard Andre Miller said, putting an emphasis on each syllable. "If he played like that every night, he'd average 40 points. "It's hard to stop a guy when you have the ball coming at you full speed like a track sprinter and a football player mixed in one." Miller had it spot on, James said afterward. "In order to get road wins, you have to come out aggressive, and that was my whole mindset coming into the game," he said. Cleveland hit 14 of 19 shots in the first quarter. At one point early in the second period, the Cavaliers were 18 of 23 from the field. The Cavs shot .649 (24 of 37) in the first half, with 34 points in the paint and nine fast-break points. It wasn't just one player, but James was the straw that stirred the drink. "LeBron was just unbelievable the first half," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "That first quarter, he was pretty much in attack mode. You normally don't make adjustments the first quarter. "His 20 points came so fast. He had three possessions where we didn't get in front of him and he was at the rim. Then he hit some threes and, before you know it, he had 20 points. We wanted to double-team, but we couldn't get close to him."
Cleveland led 64-49 at the half, the most points Portland has allowed in a half this season. The Cavs held a 74-59 advantage in the third quarter when the Blazers, drawing on Brandon Roy's lead, went on a 15-2 tear to get within 76-74. Roy scored 10 points in a row during the surge. Cleveland quickly upped the margin to 87-78; the Blazers answered with nine in a row to tie it at 87-87. But Mo Williams and Jawad Williams nailed back-to-back treys, the Blazers went cold and the Cavs pulled out an important victory against the team that had beaten the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night. "They came out like a team that had dropped one and had respect for what we had done," McMillan said. "They came out ready to play and jumped on us right away. We didn't give in. The second half we got ourselves back into the game with an opportunity to win it. Then it comes down to making plays." Portland altered its defensive strategy in the second half, running double-team traps at James with every touch of the ball. Cleveland shot only .351 (13 of 37) in the half, but got enough things done in the clutch to get the win. James' final numbers were sensational: 13 of 19 from the field, 12 of 14 from the line, 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 45 minutes. Roy wasn't far behind, sinking 14 of 23 shots en route to 34 points in his 45 minutes. His only problem was at the line, where he made 3 of 8 attempts. "Roy had a heck of a game," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He was tough the entire night. He did a hell of a job keeping those guys in it."
With centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla lost for the season, the Blazers are one of the NBA's smallest teams. Cleveland pounded them inside, winning the rebound battle 42-32, with Shaquille O'Neal working undersized Juwan Howard over for 11 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. "They're a big team, but our bigs worked hard," Roy said. "Give them credit for trying to battle. We wanted to win this game, but our effort was much better in the second half." Better, but not enough to give Portland (23-16) an impressive quinella in back-to-back games in their home arena. "To be a great team, you have to be able to get road wins in tough environments," James said. "We've done that for the most part so far this year."