Cavs Avoid Late Collapse, Steal #11

I said the other night that I was never really wow’d by Cleveland’s performance against the Heat but I will certainly take a win.  I was, however, extremely impressed with the level of basketball our Cavaliers played on Saturday night against the Knicks. Well I was impressed with the first half anyways.Since Saturday night’s contest was like watching two separate games, I’m going to hit you with two different reactions to the game.  How’s that sound? 

Game #1: First Half 

LeBron James was absolutely ridiculous again in the first half against the Knicks.  He was in an incredible rhythm and hit just about anything and everything that he threw up and the Cavaliers scored 44 points in the first quarter.  The King notched 31 points in his first 14 minutes of work and finished game numero uno with 35 points.  The guy single handedly led Cleveland on a 24-14 run.  Yes, 24 straight Cavalier points! 

Shaquille O’Neal continued his dominance in the paint and JJ Hickson played another phenomenal game of basketball. 

LeBron finished the night with 47 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists

But towards the end of the half, Cleveland got caught standing around watching the LeBron James Show and never really got themselves into a groove heading into the break. 

Game #2: Second Half 

The stagnant play from the final minutes of the first half continued over into the third quarter and Cleveland was outscored by six as the Knicks chipped their way back into the game. 

An early run by the Knickerbockers brought about a three point game in the fourth.  Cleveland was at a stand-still at the offensive end and did not play very well on the defensive side.  I almost felt like I was watching the Boston Celtics or LA Lakers out there; that’s how good Cleveland made them look! 

But LeBron calmed his troops and scored the final six points of the game as Cleveland escaped a fourth quarter face-plant for a 113-106 victory. 

A win is a win fellas.  And eleven wins is, well, that’s amazing. 

Do I hear number twelve coming?