Photo: Scott Shaw / The Plain Dealer

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown will not be singing the praises of his team's defense against the Toronto Raptors. The Cavaliers lost to the Raptors back on October 28th, 101-91. In that game, the Cavs found themselves down 18 at halftime after giving up 57 first half points to the Raptors. Tuesday night's game seemed headed in the same direction as the Cavs gave up 60 first half points to the Raptors and only found themselves up 2 points; however, the Cavs got big performances from their Big 3 (Shaq, Bron and Mo) and outlasted the Raptors offense for the 108 to 100 victory.

Playing Their Style- One of the great things about the 2009-2010 Cavs roster is that they have the players to play any style of basketball; however, the ability to play any style is also one of Cleveland's downfalls. In some games this year, Cleveland has gotten too caught up in trying to win by playing another team's style and failed to put their defensive stamp on some games. Tonight was one of those games. Cleveland was running with the Raptors, taking quick shots, and failing to get their defense setup. The Cavaliers allowed the normally outside-oriented Raptors a clear path to the rim and could not handle Toronto's rookie DeMar DeRozan early. DeRozan had 10 1st quarter points and 6 of his points came off layups. Cleveland gave up 24 points in the paint in the 1st half to a team that prefers to shoot jumpers.

Stars Shine Bright in 1st Half - The players that are expected to be in Dallas at the All-Star game shined bright in the 1st half. LeBron James was statistically off the charts in the 1st half. James finished the half with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal. The player expected to be a reserve forward for the 5th straight year, Chris Bosh, had 16 points in the 1st half and a phenomenal 2nd quarter. Bosh went 5 for 6 from the floor in the 2nd quarter and scored 12 points. Mo Williams fighting for his 2nd straight appearance in the All-Star game had 14 1st half points and 5 assists.

Hot Shooting - In the 1st half, the Cavaliers recorded their best shooting performance for a half this year. The Cavs shot 21 of 34 from the floor for 62%. The Raptors were not far behind shooting 56%. The 1st half saw 14 ties and 20 lead changes. The Cavaliers needed their strong shooting performance as they turned the ball over 9 times in the 1st half which led to 9 points for Toronto.

New Attitude - In the 2nd half, the Cavaliers came out of the locker room and turned up the physicality in their defense. Shaquille O'Neal headlined this movement to make the Raptors earn their inside baskets by planting DeMar DeRozan and Jarret Jack on their behinds instead of giving up layups. DeRozan and Jack went 4 for 4 from the line on those fouls, but the message was sent. The Raptors would no longer be untouched at the rim; Toronto felt the effects of this physical play and cooled off from the field. The Raptors only from 44% from the floor in the 3rd quarter and Cavs opened up an 8-point lead to start the 4th quarter.

So it ain't so, Mo! - Cavs fans had reason to worry with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter when Mo Williams left the game to be examined in the locker room. Williams tried to reach in and chip down on the ball on a driving Toronto player, but he tweaked his shoulder in the process. Williams tried to stay on the floor, but LBJ forced Mo to the sideline after seeing Mo in obvious pain. Thankfully Williams returned to the floor in the 4th quarter suffering only a mild shoulder strain.

Here we go again - After opening up a 10 point lead to start the 4th quarter, the Cavs let the Raptors back in the game by allowing the Raptors to go on a 9-0 run. During the 1st 6 minutes of the 4th quarter, the Cavs took 8 shots and only made 1. Of those 8 shots, 6 were from 15 feet or beyond and 4 were 3-pointers. The only shot made was a dunk from Delonte on a fast-break. The Cavaliers do this far too often. When Cleveland gets a double digit lead, they should be working the shot-clock with ball movement and trying to score down-low. Instead, Cleveland works the shot-clock by dribbling it out and taking long jumpers. This allowed the Raptors to grab long rebounds and get baskets without the Cavs being able to setup their defense.

Going through Shaq for the W - Cleveland righted the ship when Shaq entered the game with 6 minutes left. Clinging to a 1-point lead Shaq came up with a big defensive rebound and then got back down to the offensive end where the offense ran through him. Mo passed it to Shaq on the block. LBJ then cut through the paint drawing 2 defenders... Mo then slid to the corner where Shaq found him for the 3-pointer that may have broke the Raptors back. Two possessions later, the Cavs ran the same play, but Shaq assisted LBJ on a dunk on his cut through. It was nice to see the Cavs run a play and then go right back to it but using a different option. That kind of offensive execution wins you championships not dribbling out the shot-clock and shooting long jumpers.

Tears for Turkoglu - On a happy note, Hedo Turkoglu was T'd up in the 2nd quarter while complaining about his 3rd foul. After the game, he was quoted as saying, "I was afraid to walk by them, they might call a foul". I don't feel sorry for this piece of work as he still believes he has not committed a foul in his 9 years of NBA basketball. He should have worried less about the officials and more about his 3 pointers, hitting just 1-of-6.

goes to: Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq gets the game ball tonight for the presence he brought in the 2nd half. Shaq put up 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting, grabbed 5 rebounds, had 2 huge 4th quarter assists and used 5 of his fouls effectively. Shaq also became the 5th player in NBA history to reach 28,000 points in a career; he joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players ever to do so. LBJ was out of contention because of 1 stat: 0 for 7 from 3-point range. First off,  it is not beneficial for him to take that many 3's period especially when most were forced, and secondly, to continue to take 3's when you are not making them and you do not need them is questionable. However, he did have a great game with 28 points, 9 rebounds (10th was fumbled out of bounds), 11 assists, 3 blocked shots and 3 steals. LBJ led the team in all of those categories. Mo Williams was definitely deserving as well with his 22 points and 10 assists, but he needs to clean up his turnovers since he had 4 of them in this game.

Team Grade: B-

The Cavaliers gutted this one out and put up some pretty impressive 2nd half numbers in doing so. The Cavs held the Raptors to 40 points in the 2nd half after giving up 60 in the 1st half. The wine and gold also held the Raptors to 8 points in the paint after giving up 24 in the 1st half. Things that concerned me about this win were the 9 1st half turnovers, giving up the points in the paint in the 1st half and the 9 -0 run the Cavs gave up to start the 4th quarter. However, a win is a win is a win and when you shoot 53% from the floor and go 25 for 30 from the free throw line you can make up for the defensive lapses. The Cavs also out-rebounded the Raptors 43 to 32 and dished out 27 assists.

Cleveland plays host to the NBA-best L.A. Lakers on Thursday at the Q. The Cavs look to sweep the season series after ruining Kobe and Co.'s Christmas. It should be a good one and the Cavs have another chance to show why their off-season moves make them a championship contender.

BURN ON!

-J.V.

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