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'Terrific' LeBron scores triple-double
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, May 03, 2008
WASHINGTON: Nobody closes the Verizon Center like the Cavaliers.
For the third consecutive year, the Cavs finished off the Wizards on their own floor, scoring a 105-88 victory Friday to secure a 4-2 NBA Eastern Conference series victory.
This finale, though, was different. The Cavs pieced together one of their finest games of the season, executing at a high level both defensively and offensively to turn what was expected to be another nail-biter into a blowout.
The Cavs will now enjoy several days off as they await the winner of the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks series, which is headed for a deciding Game 7 on Sunday in Boston. The earliest the conference semifinal series could start would be Tuesday.
The win came with lots of standout performances but even more emotion, with LeBron James the leader on both fronts. He had his third career playoff triple-double and set the tone with his activity and court vision.
He might have exuded even more leadership with an impassioned soliloquy in the team huddle as the fourth quarter started. His teammates followed in never allowing the Wizards to mount the slightest comeback push.
''It was a gruesome
series,'' said James, who had 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
''I'm very excited the way we were able to refocus ourselves and come into this building and get a win.''
After the way the Cavs lost Game 5 on Wednesday, by letting go of a five-point lead in the final two minutes, they didn't make a misstep in Game 6. It started with James, who began the game intent on keeping the ball moving and getting his teammates going. Both worked seamlessly as James ripped through double teams and his teammates took turns burning the Wizards.
Leading the pack was Wally Szczerbiak, who played his best game since joining the Cavaliers in a February trade. Simply setting up on the opposite end of the floor as James on every possession, passes kept coming his way and he kept delivering. Playing the exact role he was acquired for, Szczerbiak made six 3-pointers on the way to 26 points.
He also proved to be effective in dealing with Game 5 star Caron Butler. Getting plenty of help as the Cavs brought more double teams, Szczerbiak used his size to keep Butler out of the interior as much as possible. Butler still scored 18 points, but never affected the game the way he did Wednesday.
''This is the worst shooting stretch I've had in my career so far,'' Szczerbiak said. ''I just had to let it all hang out.''
When it wasn't Szczerbiak, it was Daniel Gibson. Filling the role he did the last time the Cavs played in a Game 6 — last year's Eastern Conference finals — Gibson made four 3-pointers of his own and scored 22 points. Unlike in Game 5, when the Wizards were able to deny him open looks, the Cavs moved Gibson around to different spots on the floor. That enabled him to find open space.
In all, the Cavs piled up 29 assists with only seven turnovers.
James made it all happen. Seven of his assists were to Szczerbiak or Gibson, and numerous other times, his presence freed them. Then in the second half, when the Wizards used fewer double teams to stay attached to shooters, he attacked more and scored 17 points.
James had four 30-point games in the series, but this was by far his best performance, even as the Wizards again were physical with him. He was elbowed in the face, poked in the eye and hit between the legs — and that was only counting the second half.
''Terrific, terrific, terrific, terrific, terrific performance by our guy, LeBron,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ''Our guys had a close-it-out mentality.''
All the offensive highlights overwhelmed the defensive performance a bit. But after allowing 31 points in the first quarter, the Cavs locked down defensively by eliminating drives and using solid rotations to make the Wizards take shots late in the shot clock.
Washington managed only 33 points combined in the second and third quarters as the Cavs constructed a huge lead. Only Antawn Jamison, who had 23 points and 15 rebounds, made an impact for the home team.
In the series, the Cavs held the Wizards to 92 points per game and 42 percent shooting, four times keeping them from breaking the 90-point barrier.
James let all of that do the talking at the end of the extremely tense two weeks between the two now-bitter rivals.
''Cleveland is advancing,'' he said. ''That speaks louder than me saying anything about the fans here or DeShawn Stevenson.''
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
WASHINGTON: Nobody closes the Verizon Center like the Cavaliers.
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