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Photo: Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com
The Cavaliers looked willing and likely to extend their losing streak to three games early in the third quarter tonight as their defecit swelled to twelve just seconds in. But, Mike Brown got a burst of energy from the Energizer Bunny himself, Anderson Varejao. Wild Thing went on a scoring spree spurred by his energy and hustle, and him and LeBron proved to be too much for Portland on a night where the Cavaliers were far from perfect, but good enough to secure the five-point home win.
Banged up Blazers, under the weather Cavaliers: The Portland Trail Blazers are probably the most injury-affected team in the association. Currently, they are without key players Greg Oden, Nicholas Batum, Travis Outlaw, and Rudy Fernandez. Even their head coach Nate McMillan wasn't on the road trip as he was recovering from an Achilles' tear. Assistant Dean Demopoulos wore the coaching hat for the evening. As for the wine and gold, Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao missed shootaround with flu-like symptoms. They were deemed "very questionable", but they both gave it a go after being gametime decisions. The Cavaliers were without Daniel Gibson and his swollen right pinky finger.
Turnover trail marches on: The Cavaliers continued their startling turnover numbers from the last two losses in the first quarter. The Cavs turned it over six times, and a couple of those were credited to J.J. Hickson. Hickson is a constant question mark when it comes to catching passes. His hands must be small for a big guy his size, because he also struggles dunking the ball one hand. J.J. needs to work on catching the ball solidly and eliminating the unforced turnovers.
A scUM blast from the past: The Fab Five were a prime example of cheating in college basketball at its finest. One of those Michigan players is still wandering around in the NBA dungeon. I'm speaking of Juwan Howard, the 15-year veteran, who suddenly sprang to life against Cleveland as the team's backup center. Howard was left open and made the Cavaliers pay in much the way Hickson has made other pay. Howard scored 15 points in 16 minutes on the evening, 13 of those came in the second quarter.
Another blast from the (Cavalier) past: Andre Miller has bounced around the league a decent amount, but he started right here in Cleveland for you LBJ-era-only Cavalier fans. Miller was one of the lone bright spots on the team from 1999-2002, but the Cavaliers were not able to re-sign him after his rookie contract expired. Back to the present, Miller created a boatload of issues for the Cavaliers slicing through the lane and finding his teammates. He scored 12 first half points and dished out a couple of assists. He finished the night with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Blazer bench threw in 39 points in all, nearly all coming from Miller and Howard.
Quick hook sets up Cavalier run: The true key to the win was when Mike Brown yanked the uninspired J.J. Hickson for Anderson Varejao just one minute into the third quarter. Andy, and the team for that matter, never looked back. Varejao played about a 22-minute stretch straight until the final minute of the game when the Cavaliers went small. Andy did it all, scoring on several shots in the paint, grabbing a bunch of boards, and playing much better defense on stud power forward LaMarcus Aldridge than J.J. did. Varejao had 12 fourth quarter points to lead the team as well. His final stats were 10-of-17 shooting for 22 points, 10 boards, 1 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 36 minutes.
Eye Carumba!: Shaq was a big part of the third quarter charge as he was much better with his touch around the basket tonight. Impressively, he converted two and-ones and he made all four of his free throw attempts. In the third quarter, while getting fouled, Blazer center Joel Przybilla raked O'Neal across the face and hit O'Neal's left eye. Shaq had trouble seeing out of it and did not return. He is questionable for Sunday's game. O'Neal recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes.
Fourth Quarter Duel: LeBron and Brandon Roy didn't disappoint a national television audience as they traded a couple of baskets in the fourth quarter. LBJ had just five points in the quarter, while Roy had ten, but Andy outscored them both with his 12 in the final set. Roy shot just 9-of-25 from the field, however, and it wasn't LeBron who was guarding him. Anthony Parker showed his face for the first time in a few games to make it tough on Roy. There are certain players who are just too athletic for AP, but Roy's methodical way of breaking down the D suits Parker much more. Parker played big minutes (37), and he drilled 2-of-3 long balls.
Interesting lineup to closeout and.... huh?: The Cavaliers pulled Andy in the final thirty seconds for Jamario Moon, which gave them an all-guard/forward lineup of Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, and LeBron James. With 12 seconds left, Aldridge drained a three and the lead was cut to four at 101-97. Then, there was confusion on the Cavalier side as Jamario Moon inbounded the ball to James when he thought the team was calling a timeout. Roy picked the ball up, laid it in, and the lead was just two with under ten seconds left. But, Mo Williams calmly sank two free throws, Roy missed a three, James split the pair of free throws, and the Cavaliers came away with win number seventeen.
 goes to: Anderson Varejao and LeBron James. Varejao's value on this team sometimes cannot be quantified with stats, but tonight it certainly was visible. Andy scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting, adding 10 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block. James went crazy in the third quarter with 14 points. His final stats were 33 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. He shot 14-of-24 from the floor.
Team Grade: B
The Cavaliers shot 54 percent, dished out 23 assists, won the battle of the boards 40-30, and had just eight turnovers in the final three quarters. The best stat, however, is that they won the points in the paint 52-28.
The Cavaliers continue their "road trip" with the much-improved Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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