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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.
The Big Diesel doing the little things: Shaq has really been hitting his stride lately, and he did all the little things right tonight to help the Cavalier cause. Shaq was a foul-drawing force this evening, but he also dished out several assists and was physical rebounding the ball underneath the hoop. O'Neal ended up scoring 11 points on just 3-of-4 shooting, pulling down 11 rebounds and handing out 5 assists. Shaqtastic also made an impressive-for-him 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. O'Neal's scoring has been up recently, and it is almost certainly due to his comfort level, along with the arc on his shot, increasing.
Roy's third: The Blazers deserve tons of credit for being the team to overcome the most adversity in the NBA, a close pick over the Houston Rockets. Sure, they have their two best players in Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, but they are desperately thin at both small forward and center, starting over-the-hill Fab Five member Juwan Howard in the middle. Roy is an incredible mid-range shooter, and he caught white-hot fire in the third quarter, lifting the comeback effort for Portland. In the third alone, Roy hit 4-of-5 shots and scored nine points. He was helped by his teammates too, including two Martell Webster triples, since the Blazers shot a scorching 12-of-18 (67%) in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Blazer floor staff must have installed a lid on the Cavaliers' rim, because the Cavaliers hit just 8-of-20 shots (40%), but they missed four layups, including a couple of no-brainer bunnies from Anderson Varejao. All of that and the continued Blazer dribble penetration from Roy and former Cavalier Andre Miller permitted the Blazers to cut the Cavalier lead from 17 to 4 after three.
Jawad's fourth: Save me a ticket for the Jawad Williams playing time bandwagon! Jawad has really impressed me in these last three games, but it hasn't surprised me that much. Watching this guy play at UNC, seeing his stats in the D-league, and hearing the way the Cavaliers talked about him, I figured that at 26, he was just begging for some opportunity to shine. 'Wad has great size, and he used it in helping slow down Brandon Roy tonight, a task that he may have performed better than Anthony Parker and Delonte West. Williams also has an offensive game as well. He showed it tonight moving without the ball as LeBron found him for an easy bucket in the paint, then drilling two key three pointers in the fourth quarter. Both of his three pointers were crucial to the victory; his first came with the Cavaliers up just four at the start of the fourth quarter, and his second came with the Cavaliers up six with 2:59, putting a kiss on the Rose Garden faithful and laying the Blazers in the grave. Williams finished with a career-high 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, adding 2 boards and a steal in 17 minutes. The Cavs were +16 with Jawad out there, tied for best on the team. Jawad continues to shine in Jamario Moon's absence.
Key plays down the stretch: Anderson Varejao came up big in this game, and he would have been awarded a game ball for his effort tonight on most nights. Andy's defensive effort was paramount, including having to switch multiple times onto Brandon Roy. One occasion that sticks out is when Varejao cranked up the pressure and forced B-Roy to dribble it off his sneaker. Another key play came at the 4:21 mark with a Mo Williams trey ball. What was so important about it was that Mo was 4-of-14 shooting it at that point. That confidence and willingness to shoot the big shots, even on an off night, is the main reason why Mo has proven to be a worthy running mate to LeBron these past two years. Without Shaq, Andy, Mo, and Jawad's effort, LeBron's amazing performance would have been wasted.
 goes to: LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jawad Williams. LeBron came sprinting out of the gates and led the charge to avoid back-to-back losses. He scored 20 first quarter points on his way to 41 points on 13-of-19 shooting. James also tallied 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Shaq contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists in a highly-effective all-around game. Jawad scored a career high 10 points, chipping in a team-high 8 fourth quarter points.
Team Grade: B+
The Cavaliers won this one by keeping everyone involved despite LeBron's hot night, getting five guys into double digit scoring. They shot 50% on the road, a key element in the recipe for road wins, and they won the battle of the boards 42-32. Most importantly perhaps was the fact that they only turned it over 7 times and gave up just 7 Portland offensive rebounds. The blowing of the 17-point lead and the dribble penetration issues, however, need to be improved upon.
The Cavs are now 1-1 on the west coast swing, and their next stop is always an interesting one, Golden State. This game will be a track meet, and it will likely have a negative effect on the Cavs afterward. The key will be to try and slow down the Warriors and for the Cavaliers to use their distinct height advantage at both center and the guard spots to come out with a W.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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