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Without LeBron, Cavs gut out 50th win of the season 95 - 97
March 8, 2010
If the Cleveland Cavaliers were longing to prove they're as deep and talented as they say they are, Monday was the night to do it. They were without LeBron James (tender ankle) for the second straight game. They lost Antawn Jamison (stiff knee) early in the third quarter. And they aren't expected to get Shaquille O'Neal (thumb surgery) back for a good six weeks. No LeBron, Antawn or Shaq? No problem for the Cavs in a thrilling 97-95 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs. Actually, there were a few issues along the way, but the patched-together Cavs managed to bring a wide smile to the face of their superstar in the end, as James cheered wildly from the sideline in a suit. That's because on this night, the Cavs played with the type of unity and resolve their leader so often displays. It was almost as if he were right there on the floor with them. "This is a resilient team," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "We have a lot of capable players." The league-leading Cavs (50-15) became the first team to hit the half-century mark for wins this season. It also marks the fourth time in five years the Cavs have recorded at least 50 victories.
And they did it via pure hustle, bending their knees and shuffling their feet on defense, and sharing the ball and never losing faith on offense. "The one thing you always look for is effort," Brown said. "The second thing you look for is you want to make sure the guys keep trusting one another. You don't want to have anyone go solo and try to take over the game themselves. That trust factor was a big thing." The Cavs also displayed plenty of balance, with six players scoring in double figures. Jamison and Mo Williams led the way with 17 points apiece, followed by 16 from Delonte West, 13 from Jawad Williams, 12 from J.J. Hickson and 11 from Anderson Varejao. Meanwhile, the Spurs (36-25) were mostly a two-man show. But what a show it was, as Manu Ginobili played a near-flawless game with a season-high 38 points and George Hill tallied 23. Not bad for a team that was playing its first game without Tony Parker, who could miss six weeks with a broken bone in his hand. Still, the Spurs definitely had their chances. When Hill buried a corner 3-pointer with 4:05 left in the game, they led 88-85. At that point, it looked like they just might run away with it. But less than a minute later, West hit a fade-away jumper from the right side of the basket. A minute after that, he hit one from the left side. In other words, the Cavs had no intention of rolling over and playing dead.
That was especially true of West, who made the night's biggest defensive play when he intercepted a pass by Tim Duncan that was intended for Ginobili. That came with 52 seconds remaining and the Cavs clinging to a 91-90 lead. Ginobili's momentum caused him to fall on top of West, and West buried the ensuing foul shots. Of course, Ginobili came within an inch of salvaging the evening by burying what at first appeared to be a 3-pointer at the 14-second mark. But after further review, Ginobili's toe was on the line, the Spurs trailed 93-92, and they had no choice but to foul Mo Williams. He made both, and when Spurs guard Roger Mason missed another three with 2.7 seconds to go, it was pretty much over. Varejao iced it with a pair of free throws, making Ginobili's buzzer-beating three irrelevant.
"Turnovers," said Spurs coach Greg Popovich when asked about the difference in those final, crucial moments. "We didn't execute, we turned it over a couple times down the stretch. We missed a couple of shots, and that's a bad combination. For us, that was the ballgame." As for the made three that turned out to be a two, Ginobili made no excuses. "It was a tough play; I thought I stepped (behind the line)," he said. "The whole game changed because we had to start fouling and they made their free throws. ... We had a great opportunity. Not many teams can come in here and win. We blew a big one." West scored 10 of his 16 in the fourth quarter, and Mo Williams also compiled eight rebounds and eight assists. The Cavs improved to 28-4 at home. "Without LeBron and Shaq, and Antawn for most of the second half, a lot of guys had to step up," Mo Williams said. "We did a good job today of finding a way. Guys came through and made plays."