Nov

26

LeBron Maintains Calm In Eye Of Media Storm As Cavaliers Take Manhattan

Posted by Matt Loede under NBA Game Analysis 

All the talk entering Tuesday nights game with the Knicks was about 2010 and LeBron James jumping ship to play in the Big Apple. For now, James is and will remain a member of the Cavs, and he and his teammates continue to play championship basketball, dominating the Knicks 119-101 at Madison Square Garden to improve to 11-3 on the season.

Yes, James was forced as usual to talk about July 1st, 2010, when he can become a free agent, but on this night, he was more at ease hitting three’s early, and then taking almost an entire quarter off as he scored 26 points to lead all scores in just over 30 minutes. The balanced Cavs had seven players in double-digits, as four players off the bench were able to score over 10 apiece.

The team shot 52 percent from the field, while the woeful Knicks, playing with just eight players after their latest deal last week to free up cap space, shot just over 41 percent. Cleveland forced 17 Knicks turnovers as well, as they went on an early run to put the game basically out of reach well before halftime.

The Cavs went up 34-22 at the end of one, and then put on a display on both sides of the ball in the second quarter, outscoring the Knicks 33-14 to make it a laugher by half, leading 67-36. Most of the faithful at Madison Square Garden were there for one reason anyway, and that was to see James, a player they can only hope to be in the running to have in two years, so in that sense, they got their moneys worth.

Delonte West had 16 for the Cavaliers, while Wally Szczerbiak added 15 off the bench, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. Ben Wallace had a fun time playing defense against the Knicks, blocking five shots and being a man among boys out there in 22 minutes of action.

You get a sense that this was a Cavs team that toyed with the Knicks all night long, and if they wanted to make it even more of a laugher, they could have. The Knicks never led by a single point, while the Cavs biggest lead of the night extended all the way out to 34. Even the youngsters got in the action for the Cavs, as rookie J.J. Hickson added 10 points in 17 minutes.

The Cavs return home for another struggling team on Wednesday night, as they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7pm at Quicken Loans Arena.


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Comments

2 Responses to “LeBron Maintains Calm In Eye Of Media Storm As Cavaliers Take Manhattan”

  1. Zach Sanders on November 26th, 2008 10:14 pm

    The Cavs look like they are doing everything they can to keep Lebron. If they cannot win a title (or go back to the finals) before he hits the market, I will guarantee he’s gone.

    If the Nets can move finalize that move to Brooklyn, he will join Jay-Z and co. If the Nets get stuck in Jersey, Lebron will be donning Blue and Orange.

    -Zach Sanders
    NBA Notebook

  2. James on November 26th, 2008 11:45 pm

    Geez, what team is not gunning to get LeBron? Funny thing is, LeBron does not seem to be a good fit for D’antoni’s offense. Think of it as the spread offense of the basketball world, where there is no favorite wide receiver in football, there is no favorite scorer in D’antoni’s offensive scheme. That would make no sense with LeBron.

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