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.
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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.
Oct 28: Celtics 90, Cavs 85
The AP reports: Banner No. 17 is up in the rafters, and win No. 1 is in the books. NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce scored 27 points as the defending champion Boston Celtics followed an emotional ring ceremony and banner raising with a 90-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. LeBron James scored 22, but he missed a driving layup with 41 seconds left and two free throws in the last 11 seconds… Pierce had 11 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics outscored Cleveland 24-13 to take a 67-63 lead.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For the Celtics, Pierce shot 10-of-19 for his 27. Rajon Rondo (4-of-5) had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Leon Powe (5-of-7) was terrific off the bench with 13. Tony Allen (4-of-9) had 11 off the bench. Kevin Garnett (5-of-15) was quiet. Kendrick Perkins grabbed 8 rebounds. For the Cavs, who started Delonte West at shooting guard, LeBron James was just 9-of-21 for 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mo Williams scored double figures. Anderson Varejao had 9 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. That was about it. Both teams were awful from three-point range.
NBA opening night rosters
The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.
This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.
The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.
Enjoy the season!
Oct 24: Cavs 107, Wizards 80
The AP reports: LeBron James had a preseason-high 26 points, Mo Williams added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards 107-80 on Friday night in the exhibition finale for both teams. The Cavaliers (3-5) had their highest scoring total of the preseason and committed only nine turnovers in the game at Ohio State’s Value City Arena. The Wizards were 2-5 in exhibition play… Delonte West earned the start at shooting guard in place of Sasha Pavlovic and had two points before spraining his left ankle with 1:40 remaining in the second quarter… The fourth quarter was delayed for 11 minutes after a member of the Cavaliers’ Scream Team dance squad was injured while performing during a timeout. After being attended to by more than a half-dozen medical workers, he was taken off the court on a stretcher and had movement in all his extremities.
Mo Williams must fit with LeBron
The Sporting News (Sean Deveney) reports: Is Maurice Williams the guy LeBron’s been looking for? The plan in Cleveland seems to center on lining up as many perimeter scorers as possible around LeBron James. They’ve got Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and, now, Williams, acquired from Milwaukee as part of a three-team trade this summer. Williams is owed $43 million over the next five years, so acquiring him from the Bucks was a risky move. But the Cavs see Williams as much more than a perimeter scorer. He is not a great playmaker (which caused some tensions with Michael Redd in Milwaukee), but he has the ability to run a fast break, something the Cavaliers have simply not done well at all in recent years. And, unlike the Cavs’ other outside options, he has the ability to create his own shot, which will naturally take pressure off James in halfcourt sets. Williams has been terrific for the Cavs thus far in the preseason.