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LeBron makes difference for Cavs in OT win over Raptors 126 - 118
February 26, 2010
For 48 minutes, the Chris Bosh-less Toronto Raptors hung with the Cavaliers. Then overtime arrived and conventional wisdom prevailed as the team with its superstar in uniform methodically picked apart the Raptors on their way to a 126-118 victory. "We are just happy we got the win," Mike Brown said. "Our guys just kind of hung in there and hung in there. We just found a way to win tonight and sometimes you have got to do that in the NBA, so we'll take this one." In overtime they did more than hang in there, with Mo Williams knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to open the extra session, putting the Cavaliers up six before the Raptors were able to score. "They say the team that scores first in overtime wins the majority of the time," former Raptor Anthony Parker said. "We got the tap and wanted to execute a good shot. Mo made two big shots to open it up and we just wanted to lock it down on defense and make it tough on them." LeBron James shook off a knee to the thigh and some bumps and bruises early to finish with 36 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
"Not a good day for me," James said of taking a knee to the thigh, his legs covered in ice. "It is one of the worst feelings you can have as an athlete, especially when you have to run up and down the court all day." He may have been sore, but he was more than serviceable, while getting plenty of help from his teammates. Antawn Jamison scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Mo Williams also scored 22, knocking down six 3-pointers. Jarrett Jack and Andrea Bargnani led the way offensively for the Raptors, scoring 24 points apiece in Bosh's absence. Hedo Turkoglu added 18, but missed a potential game-winner in regulation. "I am not into moral victories or anything like that," Jack said. "I thought we did a pretty good job, Chris [Bosh] wasn't in and I thought we still hung in there with them, took every blow they had and played them down to the wire." It was the second night of a back-to-back and the Cavs were without Shaquille O'Neal after he sprained his thumb in Cleveland's victory over the Celtics on Thursday night, but in overtime, it was the Raptors who went flat.
After Toronto had put together a game's worth of solid basketball against the best team in the Eastern Conference, they were unable to squeeze out another five minutes, making just one field goal in the extra session. "We pay attention to LeBron and try to show him bodies and then they swing it and find threes," Raptors coach Jay Triano said, summing up the Cavaliers offensive strategy in overtime. "They did it three times in a row to start the overtime period and that put is in a hole." While the Cavaliers may have been tired, they managed to find their second wind, something that comes easier when your franchise player is there to finish the game. After scoring 34 points in regulation, James finished with just two points in overtime, but assisted on three of the Cavaliers' five made field goals to close out the victory. "We spread the floor, ran pick-and-roll with Bron and guys got to sink in and help," Mo Williams said of the open looks he received. "When that happens, good things happen.Those are big shots you want to make and take."
It was James who tied the game twice in the final seconds of regulation; his final bucket the one that forced overtime after Turkoglu and Anthony Parker traded misses from beyond the arc to close out the game with the score even at 111. With all of Toronto's shots in overtime coming up short, the momentum quickly shifted from the Raptors to the Cavaliers. Cleveland was able to pick up their third straight victory since adding Antawn Jamison to the mix. For a game without Bosh in uniform, Triano was proud of his team's effort. "I love the way we competed," Triano said. Our guys competed hard, they worked very hard and we are going to get better." Though the Raptors weren't able to get the win on Friday night, they now know they're capable of taking the NBA's best team to overtime, even without Chris Bosh in the lineup.