|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Tickets at Ticket Master
Whether the Cavaliers can claw their way into the postseason isn't yet clear, but they now won't have left this season behind without having won a "playoff" game.
Their fray with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night had all the trappings
of a May-June affair. The intensity, the crowd and the playmakers. And in the
end, it was the world champions who left with their heads down.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Cavaliers (21-34) captured a stirring 89-87 victory in front of a sellout crowd at Gund Arena, shedding their recent losing skid and rejuvenating their playoff hopes. It finished amidst a buzz of energy that trailed every possession down the stretch, as the home team outperformed its battle-tested opponent.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas provided the winning points on a putback basket with 37 seconds
left. Then the Cavaliers' defense banded together and helped force the Spurs
(36-19) into several crucial late-game mistakes.
LeBron James was the ringmaster, as one would expect, as he showed balanced
mix of patience and aggression. Unlike previous times this season where he became
too passive and settled for jumpers or instead flung himself out of control
at the basket, he masterfully picked his spots.
He nailed a few key jumpers and continually found holes in San Antonio's defense
while on the break and driving to the basket. James finished with 32 points
on an extremely efficient 14-of-23 shooting with 11 rebounds. It marked the
ninth time this season he's broken the 30-point barrier.
His biggest points were his last, a three-point play with 3:55 left that tied
the game at 80-80 and capped a 10-2 run that erased a once mighty-looking Spurs
fourth-quarter lead.
"I've been real patient, letting the game come to me," James said.
"If it's not there, just set the offense. That was key."
Point guard Jeff McInnis, who played his finest game as a Cavalier with 15 points
and eight assists, then came up with two big baskets, and Tony Battie added
another. Ilgauskas' basket and an insurance free-throw by Dajuan Wagner made
the difference.
"I thought the defense was huge, LeBron was out of this world and Jeff
took over at the end," Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. "That's a
great team over there; we just never gave up and continued to fight."
Though the offensive exploits are the most memorable, it was the Cavaliers'
defense that made the true difference. San Antonio, which had won six consecutive
games, managed to shoot just 39 percent.
Ilgauskas scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, his fourth double-double
in the last five games. His defense on league MVP Tim Duncan was more impressive,
though. Using his 7-foot-3 frame to prevent Duncan from getting too many clean
looks, Ilgauskas' defensive presence was a difference-maker. Duncan finished
with 21 points and 12 rebounds, but he missed his first seven shots and was
held to just 9-of-28 from the field.
"You have to give Z the credit," Silas said. "You can't stop
(Duncan) forever, but I thought we did about as good a job as anybody could."
The Spurs hurt themselves with two turnovers in the final 20 seconds, both coming
out of timeouts. The first happened when point guard Tony Parker, who had 15
points, had a miscommunication with teammate Malik Rose on a backdoor cut, as
all the fans were on their feet and screaming.
Manu Ginobili, who tore the Cavaliers up for 19 of his 21 points in the second
half, missed a wide-open Hedo Turkoglu for what could've been a game-breaking
3-pointer with 9.3 seconds left.
After all of that, they still had a final chance with 1.9 seconds left with
the ball. But James blanketed Ginobili, and he was unable to get off a shot
in time.
"That's when it really felt like a playoff game, down the stretch,"
McInnis said. "They threw it away twice so maybe the crowd was the difference."