Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 120 – NBA Blog

Offensive gurus on TNT Thursday

Three of the NBA’s top offensive teams will be in action tonight on TNT as part of the network’s Thursday night double-header. The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Denver Nuggets (8 p.m. ET), followed by the Detroit Pistons visiting the Golden State Warriors (10:30 p.m. ET). Denver’s mission, should it choose to accept it, is to somehow contain the NBA’s most potent weapon: LeBron James. James accounts for nearly 30 percent of his team’s points and has scored at least 40 in three of the last four games. James is averaging a league-high 29.8 points, 8.4 rebounds (25th in the NBA) and 6.9 assists (7th), and is the only player to rank in the top 25 in each category. Denver is the league’s lone team with nine players averaging at least 7.5 points. Chauncey Billups is averaging 15.7 points and 6.0 assists, while leading Denver to a 3-0 record in his three appearances as a Nugget. The 4-3 Nuggets rank seventh overall in scoring (100.1 ppg), while the 5-2 Cavaliers are 10th (99.5 ppg) … The Warriors, who paced the league in scoring last season (111 ppg), rank third thus far at 102.6 ppg. The 5-2 Pistons will need to focus on keeping the 3-5 Warriors out of the middle and off the glass. Golden State ranks first in the league in offensive rebounds (14.4 orpg), third in points in the paint with 47.3 per game and fourth in second chance points with 17.1 per contest. Detroit’s Allen Iverson needs 41 points to tie Elgin Baylor for 19th on the all-time scoring list (23,149) and 69 to tie Adrian Dantley for 18th (23,177).

–NBA News

Nov 11: Cavs 99, Bucks 93

The AP reports: LeBron James supplied the Cleveland Cavaliers with a double dose of 40. James matched a season-high with 41 points in a season-best 43 minutes and Mo Willams scored 16 against his former team, leading the Cavaliers to their fifth straight win, 99-93 over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night… Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 15 points and Anderson Varejao had 13—8 on 4-of-4 shooting in the fourth quarter—with 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which didn’t put Milwaukee away until the final four minutes… Richard Jefferson scored 19 and Luke Ridnour 17—14 in the third—to pace the Bucks, who were again without leading scorer Michael Redd. He missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle.

Players of Week: LeBron, Amare

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Phoenix Suns’ Amare Stoudemire today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 9. James’ league-best 34.5 ppg on the week helped Cleveland to a 4-0 mark. James added 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest. Stoudemire led the Suns to a 3-1 week. Stoudemire averaged 28.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks on the week.

Nov 8: Cavs 106, Bulls 97

The AP reports: LeBron James toyed with Chicago again, scoring 41 points for the second time in four days, and the Cleveland Cavaliers hung on to beat the Bulls 106-97 on Saturday night… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 points for Cleveland, which was coming off a 111-107 victory over Indiana on Friday night, but the night belonged to James… Ben Gordon scored 29 points for Chicago. Luol Deng added 20, and Derrick Rose had 16… Besides Hinrich, the Bulls were missing F Drew Gooden.

Nov 7: Cavs 111, Pacers 107

The AP reports: LeBron James got plenty of help on offense, then sealed the victory with a spectacular play on defense. James scored 27 points, Anderson Varejao added 10 of his career-high 18 in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 111-107 on Friday night… Mo Williams, a key offseason acquisition from Milwaukee, finished with 21 points for Cleveland, which trailed throughout most of the first three periods, then scored 40 points in the fourth quarter. Danny Granger tied his season high with 33 points for Indiana. He scored 21 in the first half… Pacers rookie center Roy Hibbert had 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes, but fouled out with 9:08 to play. Marquis Daniels added 17.

Nov 5: Cavs 107, Bulls 93

The AP reports: Muscling inside at will and blasting to the rim almost every time he touched the ball, LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points—15 on free throws—with ease and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 15 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-93 win over the Bulls on Wednesday night… James added nine rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes… Ilgauskas made his sixth career 3-pointer, Ben Wallace had 14 rebounds without scoring and Delonte West had 16 points for the Cavs, who didn’t put it away until the final minutes… Ben Gordon scored a season-high 31 and rookie Derrick Rose 20 for the Bulls, who dropped to 0-3 on the road. Luol Deng had 18 points after scoring just one on Monday in a loss Orlando.

Nov 3: Cavs 100, Mavs 81

The AP reports: LeBron James was only 8-of-20, but scored 29 points and took over when his team needed it. Cleveland let a 16-point lead fritter into a tie at 63, then Daniel Gibson missed a jumper from the corner, only to see James zoom in, grab the rebound and bank it in, all in one motion. He followed with a three-point play and a pair of free throws… Dirk Nowitzki was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting as the Mavericks fell to 0-2 at home. Their only lead was 2-0, on a jumper by Nowitzki. He missed his next seven shots, failing to hit another until late in the third quarter. Josh Howard led the Mavs with 18 points. Antoine Wright and Gerald Green were the only other players to hit double figures, each scoring 10… Zydrunas Ilgausakas had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Williams and Delonte West added 14 points, and Wally Szczerbiak had 10. Ben Wallace didn’t score, but had 13 rebounds.

Mo Williams still adjusting to Cavs

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports: The Cavaliers aren’t off to a great start at 1-2 heading into tonight’s game against the Mavericks, but the sky certainly isn’t falling. Yet Mo Williams, touted far and wide as the injection the Cavs needed, seems to be taking the offense’s somewhat shaky start hard. It has only been three games, two of them on the road at juggernauts Boston and New Orleans, and Williams hasn’t played all that poorly, averaging 13.3 points and 4.3 assists. But his body language and comments hint he seems to be putting quite a bit of pressure on himself to perform, an affirmation of his competitive nature. “Personally, I’m just not there yet. I’m still trying to get comfortable,” Williams said. “I’m trying not to lose any sleep over it. Tomorrow is a new day.”

Nov 1: Hornets 104, Cavs 92

The AP reports: Chris Paul had 24 points and 15 assists, and New Orleans remained perfect on the young season with a 104-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. David West added 25 points for New Orleans (3-0) and Posey scored 15 to go with his trademark clutch late-game defense and perimeter shooting… Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 18 points, while James finished with 15 points and 13 assists. Daniel Gibson scored 14 points for the Cavs. Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West each added 12. However, the Cavs turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 26 Hornets points.

Oct 30: Cavs 96, Bobcats 79

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 22 points but was resting on the bench when Cleveland regained control in the fourth quarter, and the Cavaliers won their home opener 96-79 over Charlotte on Thursday night to spoil well-traveled coach Larry Brown’s debut with the Bobcats. Daniel Gibson scored 25 points—20 in the first half—and Mo Williams added 17 in his home debut for Cleveland, which put away the Bobcats while James sat… James barely missed a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and nine assists in only 30 minutes for the Cavs, who let the Bobcats trim a 19-point lead to five in the third quarter… Jason Richardson scored 24 and Gerald Wallace 13 for the Bobcats… Cavs C Ben Wallace had five blocks.