Photo: Ben Margot/AP

When you shoot 53% on the road, get 52 points from your bench, and hold the opponent to 42% shooting, you expect to win. You certainly don't expect the other team to have a shot in the air to force overtime, but that's exactly what happened tonight in Golden State as the young, well-rested Warriors used highly-efficient three point shooting and 22 Cavalier turnovers to make this one a nail-biter.

Caught up in the pace: If a team, no matter who, is playing the Golden State Warriors, it is virtually inevitable that they are going to get caught up in the up-tempo style that the Warriors play. The Cavaliers are no exception to the rule, and the first quarter was a prime example of what happens. The Cavs held a two point lead after one at 33-31, but the Warriors were close because if you simply try to outscore the Warriors, you are going to have a hard time creating a lead and distancing yourself. Some of it is Golden State's shot-making ability, but the main problem tonight was anytime that the wine and gold missed a couple of buckets straight, Golden State would rattle off a quick run.

In a matchup of two of the league's best perimeter players, Rose Garden spectators got their money's worth in the LeBron James-Brandon Roy battle, but it was the Cavalier supporting cast that made a great deal of the difference-making plays in the final minutes that helped the Cavaliers hold on for their sixth straight win over the Blazers after throwing away a 17-point third quarter lead.

LeBron's first: Number 23 didn't waste any time in getting to work in this game after the team's disappointing effort in Denver. LeBron fashioned a perfect 8-for-8 shooting first, racking up a quick 20 before the Portland fans were comfy in their seats. It was apparent that LeBron was feeling his jumper, but he also did a nice job of mixing it up with trips down the lane as well. LeBron added 11 in the second to post 31 points at half. With the Blazers missing Nicholas Batum, Travis Outlaw, and Rudy Fernandez, the number of defenders that Portland had to throw at James was limited. It fell primarily on the unfortunate Martell Webster.

Photo: AP

It may not have been the marquee matchup that ESPN had hoped for when televising this game, but the Nuggets and Cavaliers played each other incredibly tight, even with the Nuggets missing the NBA's leading scorer in Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets used a fantastic 30-point first fueled by Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups along with key tough buckets from Aaron Afflalo and J.R. Smith to bookend their 15th victory at home in 18 tries. The Cavaliers have now lost in eight of their last 10 trips to Denver.

Melo out of commission: All-Star Nugget forward Carmelo Anthony missed his fourth straight game tonight with a knee bruise, and Denver was also without backup point Ty Lawson. However, the Nuggets did get back Chauncey Billups, Nene, and Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who were all listed on the injury report as well. Joey Graham started in Anthony's place.

Photo: John Kuntz/Cleveland.com

After just the fifth loss in the Q the past two years on Sunday night against Charlotte, you knew the Cavaliers were going to come ready to take on one of their top rivals of the LeBron era, the Washington Wizards. They were helped by the timely suspension of point guard Gilbert Arenas for weapons charges and conduct, and the Wizards didn't have a prayer from the moment they stepped on the floor. The Cavaliers won this one easily, scoring a season-high 121 points and getting 50 bench points in the rout.

Lunar landing on the sideline, Karl cut: Jamario Moon missed his first of several anticipated games as he recovers from a nagging left abdominal strain suffered a few weeks ago against the Nets. (Thanks again, Devin Harris.) Moon may miss up to three weeks, so the Cavaliers are going to need someone to step up to be another bench energy guy and defender. Tonight, it was Jawad Williams, but Daniel Gibson and Danny Green are other candidates depending on matchups. Jamario will be missed most in games when the team has a capable scoring shooting guard or small forward, such as Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Roy of Portland on the upcoming five game road trip. In other roster news, the team parted ways with guard Coby Karl today. Karl played in just 3 games worth of mop-up duty, and the Cavaliers hope to save some money and keep their options open in the trade and free agent markets with Karl's vacated spot. The Cavalier roster stands at 14 now, with 12 healthy bodies due to Powe and Moon's status on the injured list.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their 7-game win streak and 11-game home win streak snapped Sunday night at the hands of the Charlotte Bobcats. Coming into Sunday nights game, the Bobcats had never won in the Q, but a high energy effort from the Bobcats and a lackluster performance from the Cavaliers gave Larry Brown and the Bobcats their first W in the Q.

By the Numbers...

• 63.6% - 63.6% is the percent of points LeBron James and Mo Williams contributed to the Cavaliers final score. The James/Williams tandem scored 56 total points; James finished with 29 points and Williams with 27 points.. 56 points is impressive, but only one other player scored in double-digits: O'Neal 10 points. The Cavaliers failed to get in the flow on the offensive end, and the stagnant offense was the demise of the Cavaliers in the 4th quarter.

• 2 - 2 is the number of free-throws LeBron James was awarded the entire game. LBJ averaged 9 free ones a game. The refs took away LeBron's aggressiveness by not calling any fouls for him. LeBron did take the ball to the hole on a number of occasions with no whistle on contact. So, James resorted to long jumpers; #23 shot 6 3-pointers. Anytime the King shoots more 3-pointers than free-throws it is bad news for the Cavs. Eventhough James was not getting calls, he needed to continue attacking in the 4th the refs would have had to call something eventually. Instead, he let the refs and the bobcats off the hook by taking long jumpers.
  

• 5 - 5 is the number of shots Shaquille O'Neal took. Now, I am not a huge get Shaq the ball advocate, but the Cavaliers missed out on an opportunity here. Shaq made 4 of the 5 shots he took and was guarded by Boris Diaw for a majority of the game. The Cavs needed to take advantage of the mismatches inside and get Shaq more touches instead of  long jumpers from Jamario Moon and LBJ. Shaq also had the highest +/- on the team at +6.

• 6 - 6 is the number of turnovers from starting point-guard Mo Williams. Not all of the turnovers were Mo's fault, but Mo did try to deliver some lazy passes. The one thing the Bobcats do well is defend the passing lanes, and Mo did the Bobcats some favors with his passes.
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Photo: Bill Kostroun/AP

The Cavaliers survived their first game of the 2010 schedule, a sure-fire trap game on the road in the afternoon against the three win New Jersey Nets. They attacked the bucket, excelled in second chance points, and their defense picked up after being lazy in the first 15 minutes or so of the game, and they now boast a 7-game win streak atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Not quite the 3-29 Nets: With forward Chris Douglas-Roberts and big man Yi Jianlian back since the last meeting between the two, the Nets had a bit more firepower to work with than before. The Nets, when healthy, with players like Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, are capable of putting together more than 3 wins in the team's first 33 games. They showed some of that ability today, jumping out to a 14-5 lead and leading by seven after one quarter. The Nets shot 52% in the first and 48% overall in the half. The second half offensive execution is one of the reasons why the Nets are lottery bound.

Photo: David Liam Kyle/NBAE

LeBron James has put together some solid performances on birthdays past, but the Cavaliers had never won, dropping three games. Tonight, however, The King made his 25th birthday a memorable one, needing a couple gifts from a shot clock malfunction and Anderson Varejao's first career three pointer to make his 48 point, 10 rebound, 6 assist effort a winning one, beating the much-impoved Hawks on back-to-back nights.

My, how the tables have turned!: The Hawks' backcourt, which struggled mightily last night, came out with a lot of firepower in the early going. Both Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby made their presence known early, and they led a much more concentrated Hawk charge to take a seven point lead after one as Johnson and Bibby combined for 17 of the team's 30 points. The Hawks, who shot 44% the night before, came out firing at a 57% clip in the first with strong play from their backcourt plus Marvin Williams.

Photo: Gregory Smith/AP

In the first of a two-game set, it was the Cavaliers fourth quarter defense, the one element that has united all of their recent wins, and clutch baskets from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West that gave the Cavaliers their 10th win in their last 11 games and put them on top of the Eastern Conference standings for the first time all season.

Cavalier killer extraordinaire: One player who licks his chops every single time he sees a wine and gold uniform is Jamal Crawford. Drafted by the Cavs and traded on draft day for center Chris Mihm, Crawford has held an apparent vendetta against the team who picked him then turned around and traded him. In stops with New York, Golden State, Chicago, and now Atlanta, one thing has been consistent, his lights-out shooting against the Cavaliers. In fact, in his last 17 games against the Cavaliers (from 2003-2004 season to present), Crawford is averaging 24.4 points per game against the Cavaliers, compared to his 15.3 career scoring average. That's absolutely stunning, and it's another reason why you better bet Crawford will be ready to do the same tomorrow night.

Photo: Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer

What a difference of change of scenery and a couple of weeks makes. This time, the Cavaliers were on their turf, and they did a much better job of using their distinct size advantage against the Rockets, who handed the Cavaliers a loss in Houston earlier this month. After an early Houston surge, it was all Cavaliers as the wine and gold continued their momentum from the 3-1 west coast trip.

Sleepwalk start, then the tables turn: The Cavaliers early on looked like a team that barely had time to unpack their bags from out west. Houston nailed 6-of-8 shots, and before you knew it, the Cavaliers were standing in a 16-4 hole just five minutes in. Young budding star point guard Aaron Brooks had 7 points in the blink of an eye, and the Cavaliers looked to be in for another rough game with this gritty Western Conference team. Then, the Rocket fuel hit E on the guage, and Houston shot a eye-popping 28 percent for the rest of the game! In the last 43 minutes, Houston managed just 19 field goals. The Rockets shot just 33 percent for the game, a defensive best of the Cavaliers this season. The Cavaliers did it by simply doing what they've done the last several weeks for the most part: protect the paint with physical play from the bigs and force a lot of contested perimeter jumpshots. The Rockets tried the pick-and-roll with some success when attacking both Shaq and Z, as most teams get, but the Cavaliers are doing a fantastic job of minimizing those favorable opportunities lately. What looked like a shockingly pedestrian defense in the first 15-20 games this season has now shifted back to one of the best 2 or 3 defenses in the NBA.