The AP reports: David West calmly dropped a 17-foot jumper—coming on Paul’s 20th and most impressive assist—with 0.6 seconds remaining to give the New Orleans Hornets their fifth straight win, 100-99 over Cleveland on Wednesday night. LeBron James’ driving layup had given the Cavaliers a 99-98 lead with 7.7 seconds left before Paul and West, the Hornets’ All-Star duo, teamed up for the game-winner… Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points — 18 on 3-pointers — David West added 20 points and Chris Paul 15 for the Hornets, who came in with the Western Conference’s best record and improved to 2-0 on a six-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored a season-high 29 points with 15 rebounds. LeBron James had 21 points and eight assists, but wasn’t able to get a defensive stop in the closing seconds against Paul, one of his closest friends. Anderson Varejao added 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Category: Cleveland Cavaliers Blog
Cavs blog – Cleveland Cavaliers blog, blogging Cavs news, rumors and more
Cavaliers sign Lance Allred to second 10-day contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Lance Allred to a second 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.
Allred has played in two games for Cleveland. He signed his first 10-day contract on March 13.
Around the league
Teams are averaging 99.6 points through games played March 23. Last year to date, teams were averaging 98.7 points. Teams have averaged triple-digit scoring each of the last five weeks. The last time the league had five straight weeks with an average of at least 100 points was the start of the 1995-1996 season.
Phoenix has won seven straight games, the longest active win streak in the NBA. During that stretch, Phoenix has held its opponents to a combined .423 field goal percentage while shooting .557.
On the season, Philadelphia is averaging 96.5 points on .460 shooting. Over the past 22 games (17-5), however, the Sixers are averaging 102.0 points on .483 shooting from the floor.
Denver is averaging 118.6 points during its last 14 games (9-5), which includes a non-overtime franchise record 168 points vs. Seattle March 16. Denver tallied 663 total points in five games (March 14-)21, the highest point total in five straight games since Chicago scored 668 points over a five-game span in 1990.
Houston’s Rick Adelman has 799 coaching victories. He could record win No. 800 vs. his former team when the Rockets host the Sacramento Kings tonight. Adelman coached the Kings to a franchise-record 359 wins (1998-2006). Adelman (799-513, .614), the sixth-winningest active coach (behind Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson and George Karl) is looking to become only the 13th coach in NBA history to win 800 games.
Adelman, who is on pace for his 10th 50-win season as a head coach, oversees a Rockets roster that contains six players with D-League experience, the second-most D-League-laden roster in the league. The six Rockets with D-League experience are: Rafer Alston, Aaron Brooks, Mike Harris, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak and Loren Woods. The Miami Heat has eight players with D-League experience.
LeBron James became Cleveland’s all-time leading scorer after netting 29 points in Friday’s 90-83 win over Toronto. James, who now has 10,443 points, surpassed the franchise mark held by Brad Daugherty. Daugherty finished his Cavs career with 10,389 points.
– NBA News
Ben Wallace back spasms continue
Cavaliers forward/center Ben Wallace suffered back spasms during the second quarter of the Cavaliers game last night versus Toronto and did not return to the game. He did not travel with the team for tonight’s game at Milwaukee and was re-examined today at The Cleveland Clinic. He received a precautionary MRI, the results of which were negative. He will continue to be treated for his back spasms and his status will be listed as day-to-day.
Ben Wallace back spasms keep him in Cleveland
Due to weather conditions last night in Milwaukee, the Cavaliers traveled to Milwaukee this morning for their game tonight against the Bucks.
Cavaliers forward/center Ben Wallace did not travel with the team due to back spasms. He remained in Cleveland for further examination.
Dirk tells InsideHoops Kobe is MVP
I recently met with current league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and got his MVP opinion:
InsideHoops.com: Other than yourself and any of your teammates, who are the official Dirk Nowitzki candidates for the league MVP?
Dirk Nowitzki: That’s tough. LeBron certainly has a case in the East. On the Celtics, KG has had a great year. And in the West, to me it’s been Kobe, the way he’s been scoring, really setting the tone every night for his team, and to me he’s the best player in the league anyway, scoring-wise and all-around player. I’d probably give it to Kobe. Those three definitely deserve it.
The item is here.
– Jeff
Cavaliers sign Lance Allred to 10-day contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed center Lance Allred from the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League to a 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. The signing of Allred marks the 18th Call-Up of the 2007-08 D-League Season.
In 38 games (all starts) with the Stampede, Allred has averaged 16.2 points on .512 shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound center was named to the 2008 D-League’s Red All-Star Team and was also the winner of the D-League’s Dream Factory Friday night inaugural game of H.O.R.S.E.
The 10-day contracts of Kaniel Dickens and Billy Thomas expired. The roster now stands at 14.
Eric Snow out 4-6 weeks
Cavaliers guard Eric Snow is expected to be Out for approximately four to six weeks due to arthritic-related symptoms in his left knee. He will undergo medical treatments and rehabilitation during that time period and his status will be updated as appropriate. Snow underwent surgery on his left knee in early October this season to repair a torn medial meniscus. He completed his rehabilitation process and was activated by the Cavaliers for their November 20th game vs. Milwaukee in Cleveland.
Baron Davis tells InsideHoops how great Kobe and LeBron are
I was with Baron Davis in Miami after Friday’s Warriors-Heat game for an exclusive InsideHoops mini-interview, and here’s part of what was said:
InsideHoops.com: What’s the official Baron Davis vote for the league’s MVP? Other than you or anyone on your team, of course.
Baron Davis: LeBron and Kobe. I mean, Kobe and LeBron, in that order. Kobe and LeBron… you talk about the most valuable players. That’s how I look at it.
InsideHoops.com: How about LeBron’s game the other day? Insane; 50 points, 8 assists, 10 rebounds.
Baron Davis: Yeah. He’s a monster. He makes monster music. He’s a monster. He’s a beast and he’s only 23, so imagine what he’s going to be when he hits his prime.
The rest of the mini-interview is here.
MSG fan enters court to congratulate LeBron
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James unleashed 50 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists on the Knicks in Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. But a potentially scary incident went down.
The New York post (Marc Berman) reports: LeBron James lit up the Garden for 50 points last night and, in a frightening moment, got a high-5 and handshake from a crazed fan who raced onto the court in the final seconds. The incident occurred on the Cavaliers’ bench after King James was removed with 23 seconds left to a standing ovation in the Cavs’ 119-105 victory over the Knicks. The fan was removed by Garden security and arrested.