December 23, 1991: Craig Ehlo canned the game winning three to send the Cavs an early Christmas present against the Utah Jazz.

Welcome aboard Gospelites! 

Eighteen years ago today, Cavalier Crazies got an early Christmas gift from Craig Ehlo against the Utah Jazz.  As part of one of the greatest moments in Cavs’ history, Ehlo sank a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to send Karl Malone, John Stockton and the Utah Jazz home and give Wine and Gold fans across the country an early Christmas present.  The shot and victory were brought to life by Joe Tait’s legendary call: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause! And he comes from Lubbock, Texas!”

On Wednesday night, our Cavaliers will look to rewrite some of that magic as they travel to the River City to take on the Sacramento Kings.

And here’s how it breaks down:

With a 10-3 record, the Sacramento Kings are one of the league’s best teams when they play at the Arco Arena.  Rookie Tyreke Evans leads the way for the Kings, averaging 20.1 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game.  Jason Thompson mans the paint with 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds every night and Beno Udrih adds 14 points with a 46% three point percentage.  The Kings are coming off the biggest comeback in team history in which, after being the down by 35 points, they rallied to stun the Chicago Bulls 102-98 on Tuesday night.

What to Look For:

In two games last season, the Cavaliers torched the Kings for 117 and 126 points and one player poured in 40+ points (Mo Williams 43, LeBron James 51).  If Sacramento can’t figure out a way to slow down both of these players, look for one of these two guys to have another high-scoring night.

Anderson Varejao played a huge role in manning the paint for the Cavs last season against the Kings.  Look for Andy to have that same success against a very similar Sacramento front court.

Shaquille O’Neal posted 45 points in three games against the Kings last season.  Look for the Cavaliers to get Shaq involved early and for the big fella to play a major role in Wednesday night’s contest.

Prediction:

Cleveland picks up right where they left off in Phoenix.  Hard-nose defense and a steady offensive attack give the Wine and Gold an 8 point lead with one half in the books.

Tyreke Evans comes out hot in the second half and explodes for 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter to give the Kings a one point advantage through three.  With LeBron on the bench to start the fourth and Mo Williams fouling out of the game with 8:30 left in the game, Cleveland turns to the sweet stroke of Daniel Gibson for support.  Gibson knocks down two tres within the next two minutes to hold down the fort for the King.

James enters the game with his Cavaliers down 5 points and just four minutes left.  He takes the torch from Gibson and knocks down a pair of fade away deuces to pull the Cavs within a point with just over two minutes remaining. 

Delonte West picks the pocket of Tyreke Evans and takes it to the house to give his team a two point advantage.  But Beno Udrih’s three pointer knots the game at 101 with 26 seconds remaining.

Bron begins his attack when the clock hit 00:10 but is stood up at the free throw line by Spencer Hawes.  Showing a bit of Brady Quinn’s QB vision, the King finds an open (and HOT) Boobie Gibson in the corner for three. Gibson dials in from long distance as time expires to the tune of Joe Tait’s call: “Yes, Cleveland, there is a Santa Clause! And he comes from Houston, Texas!”

Cleveland wins 104-101.

CAVS WIN +3

This season is certainly a Cavaliers’ Christmas to celebrate.  Our good pal Brendan Bowers from StepienRules.com had this to say about the 2009 holiday season!