Christmas Bring An Exciting Cavs Win Against Lakers
December 25th, 2009 | by Ward Peterson |The Cleveland Cavaliers wrapped up the final game of a successful West Coast road trip with a convincing win (102-87) over the LA Lakers in the marquis game of a Christmas Day full of NBA basketball.
To me, this was the most complete game the Cavaliers have played all season. They moved the ball well on offense and played some tenacious defense, holding the Lakers 37% shooting from the field. Mo Williams led the team in scoring with 28 points in just under 40 minutes, and was perfect from three-point range (3-of-3). LeBron James played all but about six minutes of the game and finished with 26 points, but also led the team in turnovers with seven.
The real story of the game though was the Cavaliers defense. In addition to forcing the Lakers to take tough shots all night, the Cavs were very active and physical with the Lakers, frustrating Kobe Bryant who complained about what he thought were fouls most of the night, and aggravated Lamar Odom so much that he was eventually tossed in the fourth quarter after a double technical. To me it looked as if the Lakers thought the Cavaliers should have been intimidated by the defending NBA champions, and when the Cavaliers showed that they weren’t, the Lakers seemed to be taken out of their game. The Cavs stayed “big” most of the game, at all times having either Shaq or ‘Z’ on the floor, and that made for some tough points in the paint for LA most of the night.
The other big story of the game was the play of the Cavaliers bench, who were led by Jamario Moon’s 13 points, outscored the Lakers bench 31-17. With an ineffective bench, Kobe Bryant played all but a few minutes, getting his only rest toward the end of the fourth quarter. By that time, Kobe’s 35 points that led all scorers in the game, weren’t enough for him to compete with the Cavs almost single-handedly.
This game showed that, when on their game, the Cavaliers can truly compete for an NBA title, if they were to advance to face the Lakers in this season’s finals. That has to be re-assuring to a team who, prior to this road trip, seemed to struggle to compete against a team who wanted to play an up-tempo game. After rattling off three straight wins against some of the top teams from the Western conference (Houston, Phoenix, and Los Angeles), the Cavaliers should start feeling a bit better about their ability to play a faster game.
Now is no time for a letdown. After a day to rest, the Cavaliers return home and will face the Rockets on Sunday night, who will be seeking to dish out a little payback for a loss at the hands of the Cavs a few nights ago. It should be another exciting game in Cleveland!
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