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Photo: Lynne Sladky/AP
Often times, when two of the premiere acts in the league face each other, the game is centered around those two players, but often it doesn't come down to those two battling head-to-head. However, that certainly was the case tonight as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade volume scored in the second quarter, but they saved the head-to-head showdown for the final minute. LeBron made two fantastic defensive plays and a pair of free throws, just edging Wade and the Heat by one point for the wine and gold's fifth straight win.
New Moon: Jamario Moon returned from the abdominal strain that caused him to miss the last 9 games. While he saw limited action, it was great to see him out there working his way into things by taking a couple of defensive possessions on D-Wade. In six and a half minutes, Jamario had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. With the injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West, it means that Jawad Williams, Moon's replacement, will keep his rotation minutes for now. Also, Mike Brown believes he can continue to find Jawad some minutes even after both Mo and Delonte return. That, however, remains to be seen.
Battle of the O'Neals: The Heat and Cavaliers each employed a similar strategy at the start of this one: use the O'Neal-O'Neal matchup to their advantage. For the Cavs, that meant feeding Shaq and using his size advantage over Jermaine for easy buckets inside. For Miami, it meant giving Jermaine a chance to break Shaq down off the dribble or hit pull-up jumpers. Both strategies worked with Shaq scoring 8 first quarter points on 4-of-4 shooting and J.O. raining down 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field. Shaq's 2nd foul halfway through the first cut his dominance short.
The Hangover?: It may have been the nightlife in South Beach the night before, but whatever it was, the Cavaliers came out with zero energy. Their offense had little movement, which is understandable without the two top points. What was not forgivable was their defense. It wasn't just O'Neal raining down jumpers, but it was Wade creating all kinds of havoc as well. D-Wade had 13 in the first quarter on 4-of-6 shooting, and the Heat were well in control of this game, with the Cavaliers trailing by as much as 14 in the first quarter. Unfortunately for Miami, they didn't put away the Cavaliers when they could have, and they ended up losing a game that they had no business losing. It was so bad for Cleveland in the first quarter mostly because LeBron James did not record a field goal, hitting 2 free throws for his only first quarter points.
Tit for tat and a top ten titan: After LeBron's normal rest to start quarter number two, he came out with a completely different mindset. It was on between him and Wade. The two dazzled the Miami crowd for a several minute stretch, matching each other with buckets. From 5:30 to 1:50 in the first, those two were the only ones to put any points on the board. LeBron in the quarter scored 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while Wade scored 17 on 5-for-7 shooting. The incredible quarter, which beats most of the fourth quarters this year in sheer entertainment value, also yielded a top play candidate for the year thus far. LeBron James converted a fastbreak dunk with Dwyane Wade on his tail in a chasedown attempt. LBJ actually converted the dunk before Wade climbed on his back and brought him down to the ground for the foul. Sorry, Dwyane, but LBJ revolutionized the chasedown block, so he pretty much knows how to avoid them too.
D-Whistle: I try to stay away from criticizing officials, but I also break that rule very frequently. If you don't think Wade gets more calls than anyone in the league, you're either an idiot or you don't watch basketball. I'm not saying that LeBron doesn't get extra calls, because he certainly does, but Wade gets an unreal amount of calls even compared to Kobe and LeBron. A couple examples of ridiculous calls tonight were Shaq's foul for not touching Wade on a shot attempt, Boobie's foul for reaching in for a loose ball that Wade had no control over, LeBron's foul while going for a rebound in which Wade came crashing into him from the side after LeBron already had the ball, LeBron's charge drawn by Wade where Wade got the benefit of the doubt, and Jawad's blocking foul in which he was camped out complete with a tent, a roaring fire, and marshmallows. Brian Windhorst regarded this crew as one of the best, but all they showed to me was the tendency to give a star the benefit of the doubt, but where does that come in on the LeBron charge? Both shot a lot of free throws (LeBron-17, Wade-16), but it seemed like LBJ had to work a lot harder for his calls.
Race to the finish: After a pretty run of the mill third quarter for both stars where other players got involved on each side, the race was on once again in the fourth. Just like in the Cavs-Lakers game, both coaches engaged in the strategy to sit their star as long as the other one sat. Both players checked in with the score tied at 79 with 7:39 remaining. The Heat were getting contributions from Udonis Haslem and Rafer Alston, while the Cavs were using Shaq and a couple of key threes from Gibson and Jawad Williams to stay in it. The final minute was fantastic once again. Shaq gave the Cavs a one point lead on a right handed hook in the middle of the paint with 1:17 remaining, but Udonis Haslem answered with a layup just 12 seconds later.
James then missed a three, the loose ball foul was fouled on Gibson, but Wade missed his two free throws. Remember, the ball doesn't lie. Then, the Cavs took possession off the miss with 39.5 remaining. After a timeout, LeBron went to the right block, picked up his dribble, had no outlet, and Wade blocked his sad attempt, grabbing the rebound. With such a short difference between shot clock and game clock, the Cavs chose not to foul. LeBron took D-Wade, and as Wade attempted a corner bounce pass to Haslem, LeBron miraculously stole the ball, kept it in bounds, raced to the basket, and was fouled by both Richardson and Wade. Wade hung on the rim, and goaltending was not called for some reason as his hanging on the rim influenced the shot's chance at going in, which is irrelevant anyway. LeBron converted his two free throws unlike Wade, and the Heat had one more chance with 4.1 seconds left.
That was LBJ's time once again out of the timeout. He took Wade once again, and Wade was forced left and took a contested jumper just inside the arc. Give LeBron credit for making Wade take the jumper and not giving him a chance to draw a foul driving to the hoop. If that had happened on this night, there's no telling what would have happened.
 goes to: LeBron James. Was there any other option? Shaq provided some big buckets in dire stretches, and he was effective in crunch time. Daniel Gibson stepped up with 15 points tonight, but it was LeBron's effort that spurred the Cavaliers to a remarkable win. He has now had a huge hand in knocking down the other three MVP candidates, Kobe, Kevin Durant, and Wade, in three straight games. LeBron had 32 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Team Grade: B+
Miami isn't the easiest place to play, especially with a superstar like Wade to defend their homecourt. The Cavaliers by all logic should have lost this game and been blown away in the first half. They resisted that, however, and found a way to shoot 45% percent and keeps things relatively under control with 13 turnovers. The negatives were the Cavs were outrebounded for the first time in 20 games by a 46-41 mark. Of those, 14 were offensive, and ask J.J. Hickson how high Mike Beasley can fly on putback dunks. The Cavs still need more from AP on offense and Hickson all-around with West and Williams out. Parker did, however, do a much better job on Wade in the 2nd half, limiting him to just 2 points after 30 in the first 24 minutes.
The Cavaliers now hit an easier part of their schedule, which may also be more dangerous than a tough stretch. The Cavs play down to poor teams, and their first crack at that is Wednesday night against Minnesota at The Q.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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