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Bench players come alive to help overcome terrible defense, bad shooting
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Jan 05, 2008
CLEVELAND: Technically, there's no such thing as a bad win, especially the way the Cavaliers have played at times this season.
Yet there was a whole lot to dislike about the way the team played Friday against a preposterously outmanned Sacramento Kings outfit. Then again, there was enough to squeak out a 97-93 win, which is all that matters for the moment.
The Cavs played periods of terrible defense, often were out-hustled, and fired up dozens of bricks. Just consider this: Playing without their three best players, the Kings (12-19) shot 55 percent in an enemy building. They also scored 54 points in the paint, the most the Cavs have allowed this season. All with Ron Artest (elbow), Mike Bibby (thumb) and Kevin Martin (groin) watching in suits at the end of the bench.
But the Cavs (16-17) still had LeBron James and a trio of opportunistic bench players who helped them overcome it, and now they have four wins in their last five games.
''We ended up finding a way to win,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ''We lost the hustle game early on, and they gained confidence. But we won some other categories and it allowed us to win the game.''
It took an 18-2 run in the fourth quarter and a clutch 3-pointer by Daniel Gibson with just more than 11 seconds left to get it done. And turning the ball over a season-low nine times. And grabbing a season-high 19 offense rebounds. And forcing the Kings into 22 turnovers, the most they've forced on any opponent.
All of which had Kings coach Reggie Theus going bonkers.
''We have all the built-in excuses we need . . . but I still thought we gave them a gift,'' said Theus, whose team was led by John Salmons' 22 points. ''I thought we outplayed them. You get 22 turnovers against a team that doesn't pressure? You're giving them the game.''
Nonetheless, it took some heady play by James and Gibson's fellow reserves Anderson Varejao and Devin Brown for the Cavs to take it.
James scored 24 points but had just one basket in the second half. In Wednesday's win over the Atlanta Hawks, James scored 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the team to victory; Friday he had just two points in the fourth but was just as instrumental.
With the Kings bringing double teams, James coolly and repeatedly found open teammates for easy baskets. In the fourth quarter alone he had five of his 10 assists in the game. During the game-changing run, he picked up assists on four consecutive trips down the floor.
Often at the other end was the bench bunch. Gibson scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth, Varejao scored seven of his 11 and Devin Brown had six of his 13. Each player also had two steals, and their combined 37 points were crucial in the comeback victory.
Varejao scored a key put-back basket with a minute left after getting his hands on a loose ball and then pulled down an offensive rebound that led to Gibson's big 3-pointer.
''Those bench guys changed the course of the game,'' James said. ''Tonight I was doubled and triple-teamed down the stretch, and I was able to find some guys that were wide open.''
Zydrunas Ilgauskas also played a major role, picking up 14 points with 15 rebounds, eight of them offensive. He now has 17 double-doubles on the season, the same number he had all last year.
It was the bench players, though, that were the true heroes — even in the first half, when the Cavs fell down by 12 points early. A second-quarter surge with the reserves in the game alongside James, who had 19 points in the first half, evened the game by halftime and set up the finish.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
CLEVELAND: Technically, there's no such thing as a bad win, especially the way the Cavaliers have played at times this season.
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