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Cavs Regular Season

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Great so I might get a ticket to the game tomorrow and now Lebron probably isn't going to play. Even if he isn't injured very badly I bet he sits a game or two. Hopefully the league won't suspend Varejao for that bullshit foul. At the very least Sheed had it coming. I thought it was a good hard foul at first and then they got their feet tangled and AV took him down. Z might be more important to the game tomorrow than Lebron. The Knicks don't have anyone who can stop him, while Murray and Hughes should be able to run the show.
 
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Dispatch

4/13/06

PISTONS 96 | CAVALIERS 73

Bad night for Cavs: James hurt in loss

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Larry Lage
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 22 points but left in the third quarter after suffering an ankle injury. His status is day to day. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>PAUL SANCYA | ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Drew Gooden made just 3 of 11 shots from the field against Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Le-Bron James hopped on his right foot, sparing his sprained left ankle, and the Cleveland Cavaliers gasped a week before their first playoff appearance since 1998.
The Detroit Pistons were routing the Cavs when their star was hurt and they went on finish them off with a 96-73 victory last night, moving a game from earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
"It was just another game for us to work toward our goal," guard Chauncey Billups said.
James landed awkwardly while being guarded by Tayshaun Prince on a threepoint play, and the MVP candidate knew he was injured right away.
"I just wanted to lie down and see how bad it was," he said.
James was checked out on the court by Cavs trainer Max Benton during a timeout, then made a free throw to complete his three-point play. He was taken out a second later, left the court moments afterward and had X-rays taken.
"It’s sprained pretty good, but nothing serious," said James, who had 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field. "You never really know until the next day, but I’ve had them before, and this is nothing that bad."
The Cavs said his status is day to day.
Cleveland plays host to the New York Knicks tonight, and the Cavs might decide to play it safe by resting James because they can’t improve or hurt their position as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"If I don’t feel 100 percent , I won’t go," James said.
The Pistons will secure home court with one more victory, or a San Antonio loss. Detroit has the tiebreaker because it beat the Spurs in both meetings.
Detroit (63-15) tied the franchise record for victories. If it wins one of the last four games, it will break the record set during the 1988-89 season, when the Bad Boys went on to win the first of two straight titles.
"As I said in the locker room, people die to get to 50 (wins)," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "To get to 60 is really something. Every win beyond that shows that you’ve been able to play at a pretty high level for a long time."
Detroit is 36-3 at home, one win from the team record with games remaining in The Palace against the Knicks and Washington.
The Pistons took control against Cleveland with a 14-0 run midway through the second quarter. Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the Pistons.
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Down 7 to the Knicks at home? WTF!?!?! I know LeBron isn't playing, but come on! One other thing that is troubling me is our tendency to make these young guards (Robinson tonight) look like All-Stars on a regular basis. Come on guys, pull it together...this is the friggin' Knicks for Pete's sake!
 
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NFBuck said:
Down 7 to the Knicks at home? WTF!?!?! I know LeBron isn't playing, but come on! One other thing that is troubling me is our tendency to make these young guards (Robinson tonight) look like All-Stars on a regular basis. Come on guys, pull it together...this is the friggin' Knicks for Pete's sake!
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Well it just shows where we would be with LBJ. I am also really happy to see Hughes putting up some stats, and showing he is getting his game back after the long layoff.
 
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Nice little comeback tonight...though I'd prefer not to have to comeback against the Knicks.:! One thing is for sure, LH kept his conditioning up while injured. He was flying all over the place and that block on Nate Robinson was SICK.
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Nice win, I know it was the knicks, but it was very good to see Hughes come out of his funk. Also Donyell had another good game.

Also if people dont believe that these games for teams that have already clinched the playoffs look no farther than the Mavs losing last nite to the Warriors and the Spurs losing tonite @ home against the Magic.
 
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ABJ

4/14/06

James sits, Cavs still rally to win

Comeback victory over Knicks reaches milestones

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - Even sans LeBron James, it was business as usual for the Cavaliers.
They were senselessly slugish against the lowly New York Knicks -- a routine sight. They were way behind in the fourth quarter -- a routine sight.
They made a big rally to win -- a routine sight.
Trailing by 11 points, the Cavs roared to the finish with defense and big shots, surging to a 91-87 win. It notched a number of numerical milestones and some personal ones, as well.
It was their 10th consecutive win at home, a feat not accomplished since 1997. It was their 30th home win, which hadn't happened since the 1993-94 season. It got their record to 48-31, clinching the most wins since the 1992-93 season and getting coach Mike Brown the most wins in franchise history for a first-year coach.
That's all fine and dandy and will go nicely into the postseason record book, but more important were the non-linear hurdles scaled.
The Cavs hadn't beaten the Knicks in 14 months and suffered more than one draining loss at their hands, so just getting over that hump was of value.
Also, to come from behind without James, who was out with an ankle sprain, was uplifting to the outfit. For the 22nd time this season, the Cavs won a game after trailing in the fourth quarter, which is the most in the NBA.
Finally, it was a return-to-health night for both Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Getting 40 minutes and a chance to handle the ball a great deal for the first time since returning from his epic finger injury, Hughes threatened a triple-double with 26 points, a career-high-tying 13 rebounds and six assists.
In his first start since Dec. 30, Hughes made 8-of-12 shots in the second half and played solid defense down the stretch.
``That is what Larry does,'' Brown said. ``He gives you a little bit of everything and sometimes he'll give you a lot of everything.''
In his second game back from an ankle sprain, Ilgauskas had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. Flip Murray also was big in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 12 points. Donyell Marshall added to the effort with 17 points.
The Cavs did it down the stretch with defense, holding the Knicks to 31 percent shooting in the fourth quarter. Murray made the big shot with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining, and the Cavs held on by going six-of-six at the foul line.
``Any win is a big win, but it is good for those guys to get confidence,'' Brown said. ``To let them know they can win when the top gun is down.''
The Knicks (22-56) were without coach Larry Brown for much of the second half. He was taken to a Cleveland hospital after the game with an undisclosed illness.
Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 32 points.
Varejao spared
The NBA decided not to take any further action against Cavs forward Anderson Varejao following his ejection for a flagrant foul Wednesday in Detroit. Sometimes following such fouls, NBA vice president Stu Jackson levies additional fines or suspensions.
Jackson active
Luke Jackson was on the active roster Thursday for the first time since February. He broke his left wrist in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers and had surgery. With playoff rosters being expanded from 12 to 13 players, Jackson is hoping to get a chance to make it ahead of rookie guard Stephen Graham.
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Dispatch

4/14/06

Injury a blessing in disguise for James

Cavaliers star gets a long-awaited break, sits out against Knicks

Friday, April 14, 2006

James Walker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>PAUL SANCYA | ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Cavs star LeBron James limps off after suffering an ankle injury against Detroit. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
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CLEVELAND — Without LeBron James, the Cavaliers are as good as a No. 9 hitter in baseball. They’re the easiest out in the lineup. With LeBron James, the Cavaliers could be as tough as anyone in the NBA playoffs, which start April 22. The possibility of life without James flashed before coach Mike Brown’s eyes Wednesday night as he watched his star player suffer an ankle injury late in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons.
James was inactive for last night’s 91-87 win over the New York Knicks, but his injury isn’t serious. Brown said James could have played last night if the game were important. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers are being cautious with James.
Brown knew from the moment Cleveland clinched a playoff spot March 29 that he was walking a fine line with James. The MVP candidate is second in the NBA in minutes played (42.7 per game), and Cleveland has a hard time winning without James in the lineup.
So James continued to play a lot of minutes even after the Cavaliers clinched home-court advantage for the first round of playoffs.
Brown remains unfazed by his decision to continue playing James.
"I actually was going to play him through the third quarter, then he was done the rest of the night," said Brown, who admitted that resting his star won’t be a bad thing.
"So for that to happen with two minutes to go (in the third), it really takes a toll on you. But in terms of second-guessing what I did, no. He needs to play. Who’s to say if I played him five minutes in that game it wouldn’t have happened in that five minutes."
James, who was not available for comment before last night’s game, has been criticized for not leading his team to the playoffs his first two seasons, so his first playoff appearance is highly anticipated.
"I think it’s good that he’s now done well enough, with respect to his team, to get into the playoffs," NBA commissioner David Stern said yesterday.
"That’s a road that you have to follow if you want to be considered among the great ones because it demonstrates that you’re either making the players around you better or management is putting better players around you in order to showcase your talents."
That Cavs’ supporting cast was on display last night without James. Larry Hughes led the Cavaliers with 26 points in James’ absence. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Donyell Marshall each added 17. James could return Sunday against the Washington Wizards, but the team will closely monitor his minutes the final week of the season. Consider his ankle injury a lesson learned. "I’ve got to be careful with him," Brown said. "But on the flip side, I’ve always got to make sure that he’s not sitting too long where he can get out of rhythm or out of sync. I’m going to take him on a game-by-game basis." [email protected]
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