By: Sean Trench
Lebron Line: 42 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Final: Cavaliers 107 Heat 100
The Cleveland Cavaliers keep on winning as they rallied to beat the Heat 107-100. The comeback began when James watched Wade steal the ball and a reverse slam later gave the Heat an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. The comeback started with a flourish as the Cavs went on a 12-0 run sparked by two three pointers by Mo Williams, who had 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. It was an excellent show put on by Lebron and D-Wade. Lebron sealed the victory by blowing past Jamario Moon and ending the possession with a thunderous one handed dunk over Jermaine O'Neal, giving Cleveland a 100-95 lead with 42.7 seconds left.
When Mike Brown was asked about that play he said "I thought, I didn’t think, I don’t know, I don’t know how he did it." Enough said! Cleveland led the Heat after the first quarter 30-26. They also led at the half 58-54. The third quarter was a problem for Cleveland again as the Heat outscored them 27-18 to take a 81-76 lead going into the fourth. Cleveland then outscored the Heat in the final quarter 31-18 to seal the victory.
There were some good things and some bad things to take from this game however. The bad was that they were outscored in the paint 52-30. Miami basically got whatever they wanted in that area. The Heat also scored 100 points which is about 10 points above the average that Cleveland allows. The Cavaliers turned the ball over 20 times costing them 28 points.
The good things were that Miami shot a horrible 5-of-18 for 27 percent from beyond the arc. Cleveland had 18 fast break points, and the Heat had just 11. Cleveland shot 22-of-25 from the free throw line, while Miami shot 17-of-22. Cleveland was also 37-of-76 from the floor for 49 percent, and a scorching 11-of-17 from 3 point range for 65 percent.
Lebron James was 13-of-21 from the field and 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. But he was also 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. That is a lot better than the previous night against Atlanta when he was just 8-of-14 from the free throw line. That is what is most impressive of Lebron; it looks like he can't hit a shot for the life of him some nights, then he puts it behind him and he comes out with a game like he did against Miami. Wade in the supporting role was 16-of-30 from the field. He also had 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 7 steals! What a game!
Cleveland had three players finish in double figures while Miami had four players. Lebron and Mo scored a combined 72 points. That is the difference with this basketball team. Batman and Robin, aka Mo and Bron can come out and just take over games while Wade doesn't have that player on his team that can do that.
It is now Tuesday and Cleveland finished this latest road trip with a 3-1 record. After getting embarrassed by Houston, they came back and beat San Antonio, Atlanta, and Miami in 4 games in 5 nights. This team just continues to get the job done, when most of the national media doesn't think that they can. Screw them! The Cavaliers will now wait and see if they can get a veteran big man to join them on Wednesday for their next game against Milwaukee. According to various sources around the league, Joe Smith will be signed by Cleveland and in uniform on Wednesday. I will believe it when I see it.
He will be a welcome addition to this team, if it does happen. Sasha Pavlovic returned last night, and Trey Johnson was waived yesterday, so Cleveland does still have an open roster spot. So the plot thickens.
In other news, for the second time this season, Cavs coach Mike Brown was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. Brown led the Cavs to an East-best 9-3 record in February and also coach the East All-Star team. He also won the award in December. Congratulations to him!
Cleveland will now return home to play the Bucks on Wednesday. They are now 29-0 when scoring 100 points or more. They beat Atlanta and Miami in consecutive games after losing earlier in the year to both teams on the road. This team just continues to handle adversity by winning games. They are now 47-12, which is 35 games over .500! They now are one game behind the Lakers for the best record in the NBA. They now hold the #1 record in the Eastern Conference as well. So until Wednesday, I will leave you with this. I'll see ya!
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