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Cavs Regular Season

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ABJ

4/2/06

James wins duel, gives Cavs win

He sparks rally with 18 points in fourth. Wade scores 44 points



CLEVELAND - Their shoes are signature models, their replica jerseys dot the grandstands, their franchises and fan bases hang on their strong shoulders.
Yet, that is only the effect. The cause comes under the hot lights on the hardwood, where it isn't about contracts or entourages.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade possess the skills and promise to make spring weekend afternoons their canvas for years to come. The prologue is tantalizing.
The two diamonds of the treasured 2003 draft class delivered a delicious duel Saturday, James providing more clutch play-making and statistical wizardry while Wade was carrying his depleted team to the brink of another mighty victory.
But this round went to the former No. 1 pick, as James inched ahead of his contemporary at the finish.
With another monster fourth quarter and a triple-double, James inspired the Cavaliers to a 106-99 win over the Miami Heat. It was the Cavs' (43-29) seventh consecutive win as they closed a key home stretch with a perfect mark, getting 14 games above .500 for the first time since 1993.
James scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, but two crucial rebounds and several dazzling assists were the difference-making plays.
He ended with 47 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and shot 16-of-25 from the field en route to his 10th career triple-double. James has enhanced his Most Valuable Player stock, averaging 40.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists on 54 percent shooting over the last five games.
Wade scored 21 points in the fast-paced fourth quarter while running the point, as high-profile teammates Shaquille O'Neal (knee), Alonzo Mourning (calf) and James Posey (ankle) were reduced to spectators. Wade, too, finished with big stats -- 44 points, eight rebounds and nine assists -- but couldn't quite match his rival.
As the game reached its climax, and the Cavs overcame a 10-point Heat (48-24) lead, Wade and James seemed to be on the court alone, tossing in floaters, layups and long jumpers at break-neck pace. It left the sellout crowd and the men in suits and uniforms -- even the old sages -- breathless.
``People got a view of absolute greatness,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said. ``The bigger the moment, both of them stepped up bigger. Sometimes, it's absolutely beyond description.''
In the second half, James made 9-of-12 shots and assisted on eight other baskets as the Cavs scored 62 points. But in the final minute, his instincts made the difference. He gave the Cavs the lead for good with a running jumper with 1:13 left, the ninth time this season he's put the Cavs ahead for good in the fourth.
Then he got a big defensive rebound off a Wade miss, and at the other end found another long offensive board and quickly fed Donyell Marshall for a back-door slam dunk with 37 seconds left. That sealed the victory.
``We gave everybody what they wanted to see,'' James said. ``It was a great showcase and I'm glad I was on the winning side.''
He got help from his bench in the fourth, especially from Anderson Varejao (10 points and eight rebounds) and Damon Jones (12 points). But mostly it was the James vs. Wade show.
``You call that an instant classic,'' said Cavs coach Mike Brown, whose team has won 11-of-14 overall. ``It was two great players taking over the game.''
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scarletngrey77 said:
It pisses me off how ESPN did not mention the fact that Wade took 11 more shots than Lebron and still finished with 3 fewer points.

But what more can you expect from ESPN?
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until lebron moves to a major market city, espn won't hype him beyond belief. if LBJ was a knick, he would be the 2nd coming. the indians are the only cleveland franchise that gets anything close to respect from that station, and that is only because peter gammons likes the way the organization went about its transition.
 
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crazybuckfan40 said:
If Chicgao would trade a first rounder that would mean that we would be in the lottery, b/c them and the knicks are not goign to make the playoffs. Will we have enough money to sign 2 first rounders????

I guess a better situation is what will our cap situation look like.
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The Bulls are only 1 game back of the Sixers for the 8th playoff spot so don't write them off yet. It is likely they will be in the 12-14 spot, while their other pick will likely be in the top 3. I guess it depends what Gooden is worth in this years draft market. IMO this is the worst draft class in many years and I don't see 1 definite star in it. On the other hand Gooden is a restricted free agent so if they are willing to spend enough money they can have him without giving up anything. I read an article last week that they are looking at KG and Jermaine O'neal either of which I don't see them having a shot at trading for. More than anything the Bulls need a PF that can put the ball in the hoop and create in the paint, which Gooden can do when he is playing well. They will have the cap space to sign a player like Gooden as well.
As far as the salary cap, I don't think it matters when it comes to draft picks. If it did matter the Knicks wouldn't have been able to sign any of their picks last year. The value of rookie contracts isn't negotiable so the player gets drafted and signs. IIRC the soft cap also allows teams to resign their players regardless of their cap situation. IE the Cavs are over the cap, but will still be able to offer Lebron a max deal after the season. I believe they would also be able to match a deal for Gooden and sign a player like Murray with the $5 mil mid level exception. The only problem with that is that when you go over the cap you don't have the ability to sign FA's unless you use one of the exceptions.
 
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Did anyone else watch the Phoenix-Detroit game today?

Rasheed Wallace picked up his 16th technical, so hes automatically suspended for a game. He also gets suspended for a game for every 2 technicals, so his 18th, 20th, 22nd, and so on technicals cost him a game.

I wouldnt be surprised if he missed a few play-off games...
 
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crazybuckfan40 said:
OMG did you guys see that dunk, from LBJ.

Also there was another one that was aweome but they called a stupid hook.

Looks like we are going to run away with this one. Don't think there is a let down today.
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That was an amazing dunk, but the one they called off was better, ive never seen him throw one down harder than that one...

Whats up with all this Dwayne Wade for MVP shit? The Heat are 10-10 when Shaq is hurt, so how can he even be mentioned as an MVP???
 
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scarletngrey77 said:
That was an amazing dunk, but the one they called off was better, ive never seen him throw one down harder than that one...

Whats up with all this Dwayne Wade for MVP shit? The Heat are 10-10 when Shaq is hurt, so how can he even be mentioned as an MVP???
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That was an impressive dunk. Great lob from Murray.

As for the MVP candidacy, they weren't even placing Steve Nash in their top 5. Nash is having a better year this year than he did during last year's MVP season, so I wouldn't put much stock into their MVP opinions. :)
 
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We continue to play with confidence. I thought it was a good thing LBJ had foul trouble and he was out down the stretch. The other guys knew what they had to do without him in the game.

We struggled at times, but alot of that merely had to do with being on the road after a big game the day b4. They took care of business when they had to in the last couple minutes.
 
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ABJ

4/3/06

Group effort defeats Bobcats

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Cavaliers broke a trend Sunday, but not their winning streak.
Their game with the typically scrappy Charlotte Bobcats was tight in the fourth quarter, a scenario that's become commonplace no matter the opponent for the Cavs recently.
But instead of simply relying on LeBron James to save the ship by exuding talent and testosterone, it became a big family effort.
As such, there was ice cream for everyone as the Cavs held off the Bobcats for a 101-97 victory.
Before the details, first the housekeeping. The win extended the team's winning streak to eight games, matching their longest positive run of the season way back in its November infancy.
It also concluded a productive weekend as the Cavs (44-29) lowered their magic number to clinch homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs to just four over the Washington Wizards with nine games to play.
Now back to Sunday's show, where ostensibly it was once again a James highlight reel. He nearly pulled off another triple-double with 35 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. As an aside, it would be an upset if he wasn't announced today as the first player in the NBA this season to win three consecutive Player of the Week Awards. He averaged 42.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the week.
Yet unlike during other games during the win streak -- where he's scored 18 or more points in the fourth quarter three times -- he had plenty of help Sunday when tensions rose. Four other Cavs scored in double figures, and others added hustling plays in crunch time.
``Anytime we can get contributions from other guys it is good,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``It takes a lot of pressure off LeBron because he commands so much attention.''
It was not an original performance. The Cavs have had various heroes in winning 12 of their last 15, even in those close games which is why they've won eight of the last nine games by four points or less. But usually it's James' burden to finish.
This night, Flip Murray again stepped up with another solid effort late with 11 of his 16 points in the fourth. He made several key baskets with James on the bench in foul trouble at the start of the period to help the Cavs extend the lead to as many as 10 points.
``I had a chance to make some plays happen,'' Murray said. ``My teammates have trusted me since the day they accepted me here.''
Donyell Marshall scored five of his 13 points and grabbed four of his nine rebounds in the fourth. Anderson Varejao had three of his seven rebounds down the stretch. Drew Gooden, who had 16 points, also had a key basket.
James, of course, did play a role. He made five free throws to help seal the win but didn't make a basket in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs never trailed after the opening moments and built a lead of eight points or more six times. But they allowed the Bobcats (20-54) to hang around by turning it over 20 times.
Raymond Felton scored 20 points and Gerald Wallace had 11 of his 17 in the fourth quarter but they couldn't match the Cavs' playmaking in the end. It left Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff, who was unhappy with some officials' calls, frustrated.
``If LeBron has the ball something good is going to happen,'' Bickerstaff said. ``I guess when it doesn't happen, it just doesn't seem right.''
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