Cavs Step Up In Fourth, Bury Sixers

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The Wine and Gold returned to their championship team identity by turning up the heat on the defensive end during the fourth quarter for the second straight night.  

After jumping out to an early 13-point lead after one period the Cavaliers went into cruise control and were outscored by 19 through the next two quarters.  With LeBron James starting the final period on the pine and his team trailing by six, the Cavs stepped their game up and held Philadelphia to a mere 10 points in the final  minutes.

Cleveland’s dynamic duo shined again as LeBron James scored a game-high 32 points while chipping in 7 rebounds and 9 assists in the 97-91 victory.  His sweet shooting counterpart, Mo Williams, led the way defensively in the fourth quarter.  Mo recorded 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists on 6 of 15 from the floor.  Most impressively, though, while the all-star point guard was on the floor, the Cavaliers experienced a 22 point differential in their favor.

With Shaquille O’Neal missing his fifth straight game, Zydrunas Ilgauskas got the nod again last night after a poor shooting performance on Friday.  Z shot 6 of 10 from the field and canned his first three of the season.  The 7′ 3″ center also chipped in 8 rebounds to go along with 4 assists on a night in which he passed Bingo Smith for second all-time in games played for the Cavaliers franchise.  Jamario Moon was huge off the bench again for the Wine and Gold putting up 7 points and gathering 4 rebounds in 19 minutes of work.  Moon turned in an outstanding performance defensively and, with Mo, helped lead the opening charge in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers.

The Wine and Gold will take a quick breather before returning to action on Wednesday night to take on the Detroit Pistons at the Palace.