Wow! Talk about a royal beat down. If not for a 34 point fourth quarter against Cleveland’s #8-12 players, the Knicks may have been held to less points for the game than the Cavs recorded in just one half of basketball.
LeBron and Co. came out firing on all cylinders and jumped out to an early 38-26 lead after one quarter. Similar totals in the second frame allowed Cleveland to take a 74-48 advantage at the half. 74 points! That ties the club’s season best for the 2009-10 season. And the other time they scored 74 points this season came against (guess who?) the New York Knicks. What a surprise.
Playing with a much smaller lineup than normal, the Cavaliers went with the Mike D’Antoni Run-and-Gun offense for much of the night and poured in the points on fast break after fast break after fast break (you get the picture).
LeBron only logged about 31 minutes of work and managed 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists on the night. Antawn Jamison continued to fit in very nicely for the Cavaliers and doubled-up with 17 points and 12 rebounds along with his +38 efficiency rating. JJ Hickson got his first start of his career at center and posted 17 points on 6-of-7 from the field to go along with 9 boards. Delonte West gave Cleveland a huge lift off the bench at the end of the first quarter and spent much of the night bullying New York’s guards in the post. Delonte went off for 15 points on 6-of-10 from the field. Anderson Varejao rounded out the Cavaliers in double digits and was his typical energetic self. Andy doubled-up as well going for 14 points and 10 boards on the night. Mo Williams didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but handed off 10 assists on the evening while canning 7 points and Anthony Parker knocked down 2-of-3 long distance attempts for 8 points.
The game was pretty much over before it started and the Cavaliers certainly had fun on Monday night. After Delonte West “threw the hammer down” on Tracy McGrady midway through the second quarter, the Cavaliers’ bench erupted and tripped over each other rushing the court after a timeout was called. That is the Cavaliers team we are used to seeing. A team that kicks butt, takes names and has a blast doin’ it.
Great game to watch simply because it was entertaining. The only complaint I have is that we still aren’t shooting the ball particularly well from the charity stripe. 16-of-27 is great in a game like this one but it’s not going to be enough in the playoffs. Austin Carr expressed his concern for Cleveland’s poor free throw shooting during the game broadcast last night as well. And that was 11 missed free throws without Shaquille O’Neal in the lineup. Yikes!
Cleveland takes on New Jersey on Wednesday night for a game that could very well play out just like this one. New Jersey is even worse than the Knicks, believe it or not.