Photo: Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer

Dwight Howard's been handed a lot of notoriety in a short amount of time in the league. Most of it has been deserved, yet some people aren't too fond of that. Tonight, Shaquille O'Neal, the original Superman, didn't take too kindly to being double teamed, and he made his feelings known after the game. The Cavaliers used their wide-open power forwards to their advantage, and LeBron James delivered a star closing performance to place the Cavaliers truly in the driver's seat for homecourt in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers now hold a 7 game lead on the Magic with 28 games to play heading into the break. This game might very well have answered who the real M.V.P. is and who the best team in the East is, but the question will remain... Who is the REAL Superman?

Delonte Back: Rejoice, fellow KFC customers! Delonte West returned to the Cavaliers tonight after missing nine games with a broken finger on his left hand. West didn't enter the game until LeBron took his first break midway through the second quarter, and it was apparent that he was feeling his way back into things slowly, but he adjusted by the fourth quarter and hit one of the most key shots of the game. It's great to see the "hot sauce" finally back in the Cavaliers' "bag". Planes, trains, automobiles, I don't care... we've gotta have our backup POINT GUARD! Delonte finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists in 23 minutes.

Let J.J. roam?: The Orlando Magic made an obvious adjustment in their defense of the Cavaliers. The main goal was to double team Shaquille O'Neal in the post, allowing J.J. Hickson to largely roam free. To his credit, J.J. responded with a monstrous 13 point scoring spurt in the first quarter, doing what he always does: finding the open gaps in the defense and slamming with authority. Master of Panic Stan Van Gundy commented in an interview after the first quarter, "We're not worried about J.J. Hickson!" Really, Stan? Well, maybe you should have been at least mildly concerned, because the Cavaliers remain undefeated this season when Hickson scores 7 or more points, and he dropped 20 on you with relative ease. Not only that, but Anderson Varejao did his best J.J. impersonation in the second quarter, contributing 14 points in the quarter largely on the same type of plays. That's right, Van Gundy, the Cavalier power forwards you neglected to cover dropped a whopping 36 points on 17-of-25 shooting in 43 minutes together. Maybe you'll worry about him at least a little bit next time... if he is still on the team, that is.

LBJ's march to the line: LeBron helped J.J. carry the load in the first as well with his relentless driving to the hoop, drawing several fouls. LBJ drew five first quarter fouls, and hit 8-of-10 free throws in the first 12 minutes. Even though his shooting was off (just 3-for-10 in 1st), his willingness to attack the middle of the Magic D kept the Cavaliers ahead. James also dished out seven assists in his continuing role as facilitator that really blossomed with Mo and Delonte out.

Foul trouble galore: This game could have been the most ridiculously tightly called game in the LeBron era. Referees Mike Callahan, Eddie F. Rush, and Eddie Lewis racked up 43 total fouls in this game, 23 against the Cavaliers and absolutely effected the outcome of this game both ways. I'm pretty sure I would be just as upset with the officiating if I was a Magic fan. Neither Shaquille O'Neal nor Dwight Howard were allowed to play to their full ability thanks to crippling foul trouble that really limited Shaq's minutes in particular. At the half, six players (four for Orlando) had 3 fouls each: Dwight Howard, Matt Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Shaquille O'Neal, and Anderson Varejao. That's just severe overkill in my opinion. It's one thing to try and tighten up the game a bit with a few calls, but to continue that trend for an entire half of a hotly contested potential playoff preview is just terrible officiating. In the playoffs, you would end up with four or five guys on each side fouling out. It was so crippling that Mike Brown gambled by keeping Shaq out there with 3 fouls in the second quarter for two minutes because he only ended up with 8 first half minutes. Shaq then made Brown look foolish by picking up two quick fouls in the third quarter that caused him to sit for a long time with his five fouls.

Orlando pours in the 3s: The Magic closed the Cavaliers' 14 point lead at one point with the three ball, imagine that. The triple barrage was led by Magic bench players Jason Williams and J.J. Redick, who helped Orlando pour in six treys in the second. The Magic just kept chucking them up all game, and as often happens, they run cold as well. The Magic hit just 10-of-26 threes in the game, so holding them to four threes in the other three quarters is a pretty solid effort. Chasing them off the three point line is a strategy that the Cavaliers will have to employ more against the Orlando shooters in their next two (or more) meetings this year.

Cavs go small: The wine and gold started the fourth quarter going with a smaller look as a result of getting beat several times in the pick-and-roll game with Shaq or Z on the floor. That meant J.J. Hickson was playing the center position and guarding Howard for about the first four minutes of the quarter. Oddly enough, Anderson Varejao played very sparingly in the second half after a dazzling offensive display in the first. Howard was fouled by Hickson twice in that stretch, but Hickson did have time to send away a Dwight Howard shot impressively in that period. Scoring was sparse in that stretch as the wine and gold managed just 7 points in five and a half minutes as the Magic briefly took the lead. That set the stage for a dramatic finish.

Shaq returns, plays big minutes with five fouls: Shaq re-entered with five fouls with 7:48 remaining, and he played his most effective minutes all night, staying on the floor until the end without picking up a sixth foul. The Diesel scored two big buckets, including an alley-oop out of a timeout that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good at 98-96. He also stopped Howard from scoring, forcing a key turnover when Howard was forced out of bounds by Shaq. Howard did not score in the final seven and a half minutes of the game, and Shaq proved that even on an off night, he can do what it takes to allow the Cavs to beat Dwight and the Magic.

Oh, by the way...: That LeBron James fellow is pretty good. LBJ scored or assisted on every point in a 16-5 run that closed things out for the Cavalier victory. James hit a couple of unreal jumpers, including a spin job where he almost faked himself out over Pietrus from the right wing. LeBron finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists in an inspiring finish to a key game.

goes to: LeBron James and J.J. Hickson. J.J. started things for the Cavaliers, and LeBron finished the Magic off. LBJ finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, and 2 steals in 45 minutes. Hickson scored 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding 4 rebounds and 1 block in 28 minutes. We cannot trade him now, can we?

Team Grade: A-

This was such an important game in regards to the Cavaliers' chances of securing homecourt in the Eastern Conference. To win this one without Mo was incredible, and it really speaks for the Cavalier depth, as has this entire 13 game (and counting!) winning streak. Cleveland shot 52%, hit 9-of-20 threes, won rebounding 40-36, and had 28 assists with just 6 turnovers. That is phenomenal. The one thing that held them back was their second quarter coverage of the three point shots.

The Cavaliers now have one full week off before taking on the Denver Nuggets at the Q after the All-Star break. Speaking of the All-Star break, LeBron James will represent the Cavs on Sunday night in Dallas, and he will be the only one there in any facet unfortunately. As for the Nuggets game, hopefully Mo Williams and Leon Powe are very close to returning to action by then.

All for one. One for all.

Kirk

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