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James' torrid second-half leads Cavs past Clippers 102 - 101
January 16, 2010
A difficult week for the Los Angeles Clippers became even more sullen Saturday night when they were further depleted by injuries and then dissected by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. James scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half as the Cavaliers rebounded from a double-digit deficit and defeated the Clippers, 102-101, at Staples Center. James was especially proud his team's effort after their last-second loss to Utah on Thursday night. "We did a great job rebounding and getting after loose balls," James said. "That's the thing about our team, we enjoy playing basketball." James scored Cleveland's final two points on free throws with 2 minutes 23 seconds remaining, giving the Cavaliers a three-point lead.
Eric Gordon scored on a runner on the next possession to cut the deficit to one, but the Clippers missed their final three shots, including a fall-away jumper by Baron Davis at the buzzer. "We had a pick-and-roll with Baron and Craig [Smith]," said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. "It was Baron's call, either find the open man, hit the roll man or make the play himself. He took it." The loss put a damper on an otherwise outstanding game by Gordon and teammate Rasual Butler. With starting center and leading scorer Chris Kaman out for his fourth consecutive game with lower back pain, and forward Al Thornton sidelined with a sprained left ankle, Gordon and Butler managed to pick up much of the scoring load. Butler matched his career-high with 33 points, converting 12-for-18 from the field. Gordon finished with 28 points, shooting 11-for-16. Their contributions helped the Clippers shoot a season-best 59.7 percent from the floor, but it wasn't enough to avoid their fourth consecutive loss and first on their home floor since Dec. 13. "We fought hard," Butler said. "To lose this game is really tough...to come back and fight as hard as we did and to come up short is really frustrating."
Playing before their third consecutive home sellout, the Clippers (17-22) did their best to keep the ball out of James' hands. That opened up shots for Mo Williams (18 points) and Delonte West (14 points). The game started poorly for James and the Cavaliers (31-11). Cleveland missed its first six shots and the Clippers quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead. James was later whistled for his second foul with 2:48 remaining in the opening quarter and didn't return until midway through the second. "They came out and made shots and made us work for it," Williams said.
The Cavaliers came into the game allowing an NBA-low 34.7 points in the paint this season, and without Kaman the Clippers seemed like they were in for a long night inside. But reserve Craig Smith, a 6-7 forward, managed to score 12 points and grab four rebounds in the second quarter to help the Clippers extend their lead to nine points. Smith also briefly joined the list of injured Clippers, as he suffered a hard fall after getting fouled by Anderson Varejao while driving to the basket late in the second quarter. Smith sat out the third quarter with a sore lower back and a sprained wrist, but returned at the start of the fourth quarter. He sank a jumper on the Clippers' first possession to give them a seven-point lead, but it would get no bigger. "I am proud of our effort tonight, but I'm disappointed we lost," Dunleavy said. "Our guys played a hell of a game, but we didn't come up with the 50-50 balls tonight."