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LeBron leads fast start, but Celtics rally late in fourth quarter for victory
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. The Cavaliers and Boston Celtics thrilled the crowd at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday night with the Cavs coming up on the short end of a 96-94 score.
It's a game the Cavs should have won, after taking a lead at 4:18 in the first quarter with their first unit led by LeBron James with 15 points and four rebounds.
The Cavs led by as many as seven points until relinquishing the lead at 6:51 in the fourth quarter when Celtics center Patrick O'Bryant scored on a layup.
From there, the teams played tug-of-war in a game that wasn't supposed to mean anything.
''It was a great show for the people of Providence,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ''They got their money's worth. I think [Celtics coach] Doc [Rivers] and I would have had different teams on the floor had it been a different ballgame.''
Indeed, much of the first team played in the first half, with Brown looking at different players and combinations in the second half. The first half showed that although this was a preseason game that ''didn't
matter,'' some players clearly thought something else.
James played with a lot of intensity in his limited time on the court. In only 13 minutes he racked up 15 points against the defending NBA champions, who beat the Cavs in the seventh game of last season's Eastern Conference semifinals. James made six of his nine shots.
There wasn't much at stake for James, but some teammates find themselves hoping to secure their spot in the rotation. Among them: Wally Szczerbiak. The guard, whom the Cavs obtained in a trade last season, is battling for the starting position at shooting guard.
Szczerbiak made the most of his offensive chances, making 4-of-5 shots and totaling 13 points. But offense wasn't Brown's worry. The Cavs have made their reputation with defense the past couple of seasons, and Brown, although lauding their efforts on the offensive side of the ball, said that work still needs to be done defensively.
''We scored a lot of points [in the first quarter], but I didn't see a lot of intensity on the defensive end of the floor,'' he said.
Brown said that during the preseason the one goal remains to get better from game to game. By that measure, they succeeded in some respects, but the fact his team gave up a lot of points on drives to the paint troubled him.
''We're a team that doesn't want to give up middle drives. We don't want to give up drives any way,'' he said. ''We want to go to the sideline as much as possible, but they got into the paint way too much against us defensively, not only from the perimeter, but the post.''
Singling them out
No one can accuse Rivers of not being a competitor. During the final stretch, he decided to press the Cavs.
Brown singled out point guard Vernon Hamilton for handling the pressure and breaking the press, even though the team wasn't prepared for it.
The Cavs coach also recognized second-round draft pick Darnell Jackson's effort.
''In spurts, I thought Darnell Jackson came off the bench and gave toughness and played hard, and a lot of times he was in the right place at the right time. He had four rebounds in 10 minutes, so he opened some eyes today.''
Skipping the ceremony?
The Boston media peppered James with questions about the Cavs playing the Celtics for the first time since the playoffs. One of the questions centered on whether playing the Celtics on the night they receive their championship rings on Oct. 28th mattered.
''It won't bother me. See if I'm out there or not when they receive their rings. We'll see what happens,'' he said.
Getting another shot
Former Cavs player Darius Miles hasn't had it easy since being traded by the team during the 2003-04 season. He followed with a few productive seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers until an injury to his left knee that required micro fracture surgery forced him out of basketball for the past two seasons.
He's now making a comeback with the Celtics with a nonguaranteed contract. As one of 16 guys fighting for 15 roster spots, he says he is cautiously optimistic about his chances.
''Hopefully. Hopefully,'' Miles said when asked about making the team. ''I do want to be here. I do want to be a part of this team.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/
PROVIDENCE, R.I. The Cavaliers and Boston Celtics thrilled the crowd at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday night with the Cavs coming up on the short end of a 96-94 score.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 04:54 AM, 10/11/2008
its preseason who cares
Posted 01:11 PM, 10/11/2008
it could be mid-season and who would care??Not me!