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With only four seconds left, LeBron unable to take shot
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Friday, Nov 06, 2009
CLEVELAND: After almost 48 minutes of basketball, it came down to just 4.3 seconds and the Cavaliers trailing the Chicago Bulls 86-85.
By the time the clock read two-tenths of a second, Cavs star LeBron James, with his shot just having been blocked by the Bulls' Joakim Noah, looked up in disbelief.
It looked as if Noah got him with his body, but there was no call. Instead, the Cavs lost to the Bulls 86-85 to fall to 3-3 on the young NBA season, sending a capacity crowd home with near cardiac arrest after the Bulls stopped
James, the game's leading scorer with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
In a nip-tuck affair, it felt like one of those games that neither team really wanted to win. Shooting by both teams was far from fantastic. But the Cavs faltered in a number of areas.
In the fourth quarter, they got too much of Bulls point guard Derrick Rose and not enough on offense, scoring just 20 points.
Held mostly in check for most of the game, Rose exploded in the fourth, scoring 10 points. He finished the game with 14 points and 11 assists.
Rose gave the Bulls the lift they needed, connecting on 2-of-3 Bulls shots down the stretch.
Rose's fourth-quarter heroics weren't the sole reason that the Cavs struggled in this one.
The referees were judicious in calling the game, and free throws weren't plentiful. For much of the night, the Cavs found it difficult to hit from the line, crawling to get 60 percent on the night.
When they hit them, it was at the biggest moments in the fourth quarter and trailing by six. First, guard Mo Williams stepped up to the line with 2:18 left in the game and hit both.
After a miss by Chicago's Brad Miller, James got fouled on the Cavs' next possession and hit on two freebies to put the game within two at 84-82.
They still had a shot, only to allow Rose to stick them again — connecting on a floater in the lane to go up by four.
James answered with a 3-point shot to make the score 86-85 Bulls. Although the Cavs played stiff defense to get the ball back with another opportunity and those four-plus ticks on the clock, it wouldn't happen.
For a brief moment in the second quarter, the Cavaliers played as if they had everything figured out. Instead, they struggled against the Bulls.
That highlight moment came in the midst of a 7-0 run during the first quarter. Guard Delonte West broke out in transition with James trailing. West lobbed the ball in the air for James to grab and complete the slam. If only the rest of the night were that easy.
They shot just 41 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 12 times, leading to 12 Chicago points.
They play the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Buzzer beaters
Anderson Varejao had his second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Actor Jeremy Piven, one of the stars of HBO's Entourage, took in the Cavs game Thursday night. James recently appeared on the season finale of the Chicago native's show.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/thomas. Follow Cavs coverage on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cavsabj and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CavsABJ
CLEVELAND: After almost 48 minutes of basketball, it came down to just 4.3 seconds and the Cavaliers trailing the Chicago Bulls 86-85.
By the time the clock read two-tenths of a second, Cavs star LeBron James, with his shot just having been blocked by the Bulls' Joakim Noah, looked up in disbelief.
It looked as if Noah got him with his body, but there was no call. Instead, the Cavs lost to the Bulls 86-85 to fall to 3-3 on the young NBA season, sending a capacity crowd home with near cardiac arrest after the Bulls stopped
James, the game's leading scorer with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
In a nip-tuck affair, it felt like one of those games that neither team really wanted to win. Shooting by both teams was far from fantastic. But the Cavs faltered in a number of areas.
In the fourth quarter, they got too much of Bulls point guard Derrick Rose and not enough on offense, scoring just 20 points.
Held mostly in check for most of the game, Rose exploded in the fourth, scoring 10 points. He finished the game with 14 points and 11 assists.
Rose gave the Bulls the lift they needed, connecting on 2-of-3 Bulls shots down the stretch.
Rose's fourth-quarter heroics weren't the sole reason that the Cavs struggled in this one.
The referees were judicious in calling the game, and free throws weren't plentiful. For much of the night, the Cavs found it difficult to hit from the line, crawling to get 60 percent on the night.
When they hit them, it was at the biggest moments in the fourth quarter and trailing by six. First, guard Mo Williams stepped up to the line with 2:18 left in the game and hit both.
After a miss by Chicago's Brad Miller, James got fouled on the Cavs' next possession and hit on two freebies to put the game within two at 84-82.
They still had a shot, only to allow Rose to stick them again — connecting on a floater in the lane to go up by four.
James answered with a 3-point shot to make the score 86-85 Bulls. Although the Cavs played stiff defense to get the ball back with another opportunity and those four-plus ticks on the clock, it wouldn't happen.
For a brief moment in the second quarter, the Cavaliers played as if they had everything figured out. Instead, they struggled against the Bulls.
That highlight moment came in the midst of a 7-0 run during the first quarter. Guard Delonte West broke out in transition with James trailing. West lobbed the ball in the air for James to grab and complete the slam. If only the rest of the night were that easy.
They shot just 41 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 12 times, leading to 12 Chicago points.
They play the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Buzzer beaters
Anderson Varejao had his second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Actor Jeremy Piven, one of the stars of HBO's Entourage, took in the Cavs game Thursday night. James recently appeared on the season finale of the Chicago native's show.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/thomas. Follow Cavs coverage on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cavsabj and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CavsABJ
Comments
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Alliance, Oh
Posted 07:39 AM, 11/06/2009
More foul line miseries. The Cavs of the 80's (Daugherty, Nance, Price, Williams, and Ehlo) would make 80% on bad nights! This team is lucky to make 80% on GOOD nights! That is why this team will NEVER win a championship! They can't consistently make foul shots! Add to the fact that we have "old", slow men in the middle and it looks like we're headed to a position of 4th best in the Eastern Conference at best!
Hopefully, they can get their act together before Christmas, although I don't really want us to gel until the first of May! You don't win championships in November, you win them in May and June.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:52 AM, 11/06/2009
All the hype, all the expectations and as is ALWAYS the case - cleveland is cleveland. Keep your blinders on and keep dreaming this group will get their act together - how did that work for the baseball season? Write it down 45 - 48 wins 4th or 5th seed, 1st round exit, LeBron exit to follow, cavs to St. Louis shortly thereafter.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:07 PM, 11/06/2009
Thank Lebron for Mike Brown as a coach..He won't let a coach dare to challenge him to get better.. That's why Paul Sila's was fired..Mike Brown is a yes man.. He's a terrible coach, but he's Black and quiet, so that makes Lebron feel comfortable..
Posted 02:34 PM, 11/06/2009
CharlieHustle-aside from the issue of Mike Brown's race which is totally irrelevant I absolutely agree with you that a big problem is that nobody (coach or player) challenges Lebron. All the great players have been paired with a great strong coach when they succeeded and that isn't the case with Lebron. So he free lances on offense pretty much all of the time. Think about it, has his game changed at all since he came in the pros? Sure he makes more shots (especially from the outside) but it is so predictable. Lots of jump shots, a few drives, and never any post-up play. Maybe the Cavs haven't made it to the top because Lebron hasn't improved enough. And he isn't going to with Mike Brown. The other problem with Brown is that he simply doesn't know how to set up an offense. He has so much more talent on this roster yet he plays the same way (basically the way san antonio plays which makes sense if you have Tim Duncan - not Lebron James). He never uses speed line ups and I don't buy the "he's trying to figure out how to use Shaq" line. Are you kidding me? How long has he known he is going to have Shaq. We should have brought in an experienced coach who could challenge Lebron and run an offense.
Kent, OH
Posted 02:46 PM, 11/06/2009
It doesn't help matters when you add one of the worst foul shooting players to your roster (Shaq).
Akron, OH
Posted 03:18 PM, 11/06/2009
Now that the Tribe has finished losing for the year, perhaps Old Man Grump should loan us the Grump-o-Meter for the Cadavers.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:57 PM, 11/06/2009
Yes Dave, I know the Mike Brown's race is irrevelant..After not even interviewing a white coach, and last three since he's been here have been black, and I also am very close to a couple people that are fairly close to Lebron's family, that he has a big say in who they bring into coach..I like Paul Silas, he pushed Lebron, and challenged him, and from what I've heard Lebron didn't take it to well, then Silas was let go..Jordan, and Kobe had Phil Jackson..Larry Brown pushed the Pistons the year they swept the Lakers...I don't care what color the coach is, I just think Lebron doesn't like being told what to do, he doesn't take constructive critisicism well, if he doe's it's probably from Jay-Z, or a New York Yankee...The Cavaliers have no Offensive, or Defensive Scheme..It's We have Lebron, and Shaq (5 years to late) go win a championship..J.J. HIckson is far better than anybody thought, but we invested so much money in Andy Verajeo, he's gonna get the majority minutes, even though he can't score, or shoot free throws..Ferry is the reason this is Lebron's fairwell tour..50 million for Verajeo, 6 points, and 7 rebounds a game...WTF??
Akron, OH
Posted 08:59 PM, 11/06/2009
And Ferry let Zydrunas stay in Cleveland cuz there best friends, so we gotta eat that fat contract, with Verajeo's fat contract, that's about 20 million a year, for 2 average role players...Just think who we could have signed with that too play with Lebron next year...Chris BOsh, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitski, the list goes on....Instead were stuck with Andy, and Z, cuz Ferry is a terrible GM..He makes decisions based on personality, and not talent..
