NBA
Regular Season Round 100: Cleveland C. - Orlando M. 119-108
Date: February 8, 2013
The surest sign that the Cavaliers have turned a corner in the rebuilding process is not that they are winning games, as they did again Friday night in triumphing 119-108 over the Orlando Magic at The Q. No, the greatest clue is that the win is no longer enough. Not even when the Cavaliers sent Orlando to its 12th consecutive loss, not even when they stuck to what is becoming a fairly standard victory formula of keeping the game close, allowing what is now a strong second unit to build a cushion, then leaving the fourth quarter to Kyrie Irving. No longer content with mere victories, the Cavaliers shrugged off their third win a row, their sixth win in the past eight games as they improved to 16-34. "My bad," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I'm probably supposed to be real thrilled. But my expectations of us as a team are a little bit higher than 11-11 in the last 22 games. Don't get me wrong, we're headed in the right direction." Against the Magic it took a bit of a sputtering start to find the correct path. Not until a third quarter in which Irving led the way with eight points, three rebounds and one assist, with Tristan Thompson chipping in with six, did the Cavaliers begin to close the gap on the Magic. Until then, Orlando dominated inside, led by Nikola Vucevic's career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. In the first half, Orlando outrebounded Cleveland, 23-13, as Vucevic and rookie Andrew Nicholson took control of the interior. "Their bigs were killing us tonight," Scott said. Despite the high-scoring affair, it was actually a defensive play that sparked the Cavaliers most. After Cleveland finally had taken an 81-80 lead with 1:50 left, small forward Alonzo Gee swiped a pass from E'Twaun Moore, sprinted down the court and slammed down a monstrous dunk. It was part of a 13-0 run that gave the Cavaliers just enough cushion. The veteran second unit held the lead in the early fourth quarter, with Wayne Ellington knocking in nine points, Marreese Speights adding eight, and Irving hitting two key jumpers when Orlando was making one last push to control the game. "We're not doing anything too special," Ellington said of the second unit. "We're not doing anything out of the ordinary. We're just playing our game and helping each other on the defensive end. We're giving 100-percent effort." There still was plenty to nitpick afterward, chief among them the high score and the Magic's 52 percent shooting. In seven games before Friday night, the Cavaliers had allowed opponents to average 103.7 points per game, while managing 105.4 points per game of their own. "It's a good win, but I'd still like to get that defensive percentage lower than it was tonight," Scott said. But there are signs that the win still was a good one, a solid one in this rebuilding. There was a slick driving layup from Irving early in the third quarter in which his up-and-under move faked out all of Orlando. There was Dion Waiters with another sharp shooting night, hitting 6 of 10 shots for 15 points. And there was the fact that the Cavaliers players, at least, seemed upbeat and happy -- even if the coach wasn't. "Coming to work every day is fun," Irving admitted. The most fun he's had since coming to the Cavaliers? "I don't really think about the dark days," Irving said, grinning. "I don't remember them." Courtesy of: cleveland.com
Terms:
Field Goals : 2PM-A (2 point Field Goal made-attempts) 3PM-A (3 point Field Goal made-attempts) FTM-A (free throws made-attempt)
Rebounds : OFF (Offensive) DEF (Defensive) TOT (total)
Fouls : CM (Committed) RV (received)
Blocks : FV (In Favor) AG (Against)
Other terms : MIN (minutes) AST (assists) ST (steals) TO (Turnovers) PTS (points) RNK (ranking)
Regular Season Round 100: Cleveland C. - Orlando M. 119-108
Date: February 8, 2013
The surest sign that the Cavaliers have turned a corner in the rebuilding process is not that they are winning games, as they did again Friday night in triumphing 119-108 over the Orlando Magic at The Q. No, the greatest clue is that the win is no longer enough. Not even when the Cavaliers sent Orlando to its 12th consecutive loss, not even when they stuck to what is becoming a fairly standard victory formula of keeping the game close, allowing what is now a strong second unit to build a cushion, then leaving the fourth quarter to Kyrie Irving. No longer content with mere victories, the Cavaliers shrugged off their third win a row, their sixth win in the past eight games as they improved to 16-34. "My bad," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I'm probably supposed to be real thrilled. But my expectations of us as a team are a little bit higher than 11-11 in the last 22 games. Don't get me wrong, we're headed in the right direction." Against the Magic it took a bit of a sputtering start to find the correct path. Not until a third quarter in which Irving led the way with eight points, three rebounds and one assist, with Tristan Thompson chipping in with six, did the Cavaliers begin to close the gap on the Magic. Until then, Orlando dominated inside, led by Nikola Vucevic's career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. In the first half, Orlando outrebounded Cleveland, 23-13, as Vucevic and rookie Andrew Nicholson took control of the interior. "Their bigs were killing us tonight," Scott said. Despite the high-scoring affair, it was actually a defensive play that sparked the Cavaliers most. After Cleveland finally had taken an 81-80 lead with 1:50 left, small forward Alonzo Gee swiped a pass from E'Twaun Moore, sprinted down the court and slammed down a monstrous dunk. It was part of a 13-0 run that gave the Cavaliers just enough cushion. The veteran second unit held the lead in the early fourth quarter, with Wayne Ellington knocking in nine points, Marreese Speights adding eight, and Irving hitting two key jumpers when Orlando was making one last push to control the game. "We're not doing anything too special," Ellington said of the second unit. "We're not doing anything out of the ordinary. We're just playing our game and helping each other on the defensive end. We're giving 100-percent effort." There still was plenty to nitpick afterward, chief among them the high score and the Magic's 52 percent shooting. In seven games before Friday night, the Cavaliers had allowed opponents to average 103.7 points per game, while managing 105.4 points per game of their own. "It's a good win, but I'd still like to get that defensive percentage lower than it was tonight," Scott said. But there are signs that the win still was a good one, a solid one in this rebuilding. There was a slick driving layup from Irving early in the third quarter in which his up-and-under move faked out all of Orlando. There was Dion Waiters with another sharp shooting night, hitting 6 of 10 shots for 15 points. And there was the fact that the Cavaliers players, at least, seemed upbeat and happy -- even if the coach wasn't. "Coming to work every day is fun," Irving admitted. The most fun he's had since coming to the Cavaliers? "I don't really think about the dark days," Irving said, grinning. "I don't remember them." Courtesy of: cleveland.com
 CLEVELAND C. (coach: Kenny Atkinson)119 |
| FIELD GOALS | REBOUNDS | FOULS | BLOCKS | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | NAME | MIN | 2PM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OFF | DEF | RB | AS | F | RV | ST | FV | AG | TO | PT | RNK | +/- |
| 8 | oQLajD, KFQaR | 40 | 2-60 (04.4%) | 6-8 (05%) | 0-9 (96.3%) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 83 | 89 | 5 |
| 35 | cRllRQ, wFlRQ | 45 | 5-5 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 9-65 (95%) | 8 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 5 |
| 64 | whIBpsIj, wQasUij | 89 | 9-66 (14.1%) | 5-5 (5%) | 8-8 (655%) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 67 | 5 |
| 4 | WiaURQs, gaIj | 89 | 1-2 (90%) | 5-8 (5%) | 4-3 (90%) | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 64 | 5 |
| 44 | GRR, SlIjJI | 80 | 8-9 (82.1%) | 5-6 (5%) | 8-8 (655%) | 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| qllajDUIj, WiFjR | 80 | 8-1 (44.4%) | 4-0 (15%) | 6-8 (05%) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 63 | 7 | 5 | |
| ApRaDhUs, biQQRRsR | 88 | 4-64 (84.6%) | 5-5 (5%) | 68-68 (655%) | 4 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 62 | 68 | 5 | |
| vaLajDsUIj, Ahiuj | 69 | 4-3 (90%) | 5-5 (5%) | 8-8 (655%) | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 60 | 5 | |
| 3 | WilUIj, vuVR | 61 | 5-6 (5%) | 6-6 (655%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | balRs, C.z. | 63 | 6-6 (655%) | 8-4 (11.9%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | GaMsIj, gijaRl | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| 41 | Cisspa, PBQa | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| zIjRs, KRLaj | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | |||||||||||||||||
| wIUil | 48-11 (32.0%) | 9-63 (05.5%) | 43-36 (28.7%) | 9 | 80 | 48 | 84 | 60 | 5 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 667 | 662 | |||
 ORLANDO M. (coach: Jamahl Mosley)108 |
| FIELD GOALS | REBOUNDS | FOULS | BLOCKS | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | NAME | MIN | 2PM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OFF | DEF | RB | AS | F | RV | ST | FV | AG | TO | PT | RNK | +/- |
| 7 | kuZRLaZ, XaVIli | 34 | 68-67 (14.8%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6-6 (655%) | 0 | 2 | 64 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 80 | 45 | 5 |
| 86 | HiQVlRss, biuQaZR | 34 | 3-3 (655%) | 5-6 (5%) | 6-6 (655%) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 64 | 5 |
| 63 | XRlsIj, ziBRRQ | 36 | 6-9 (63.4%) | 3-7 (33.3%) | 6-6 (655%) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 60 | 63 | 5 |
| 3 | SfflilI, SQQIj | 41 | 9-66 (14.1%) | 8-1 (44.4%) | 4-4 (655%) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 84 | 67 | 5 |
| 33 | XaZhIlsIj, SjdQRT | 46 | 7-64 (17.8%) | 5-5 (5%) | 4-0 (15%) | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 86 | 86 | 5 |
| 00 | bIIQR, q'wTiuj | 67 | 6-3 (80%) | 5-8 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | -8 | 5 |
| bZeIMRQUs, zIsh | 68 | 6-6 (655%) | 8-4 (11.9%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| 8 | P'ruajj, KFlR | 65 | 8-0 (35%) | 5-5 (5%) | 6-8 (05%) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| zIjRs, gREuij | 0 | 5-6 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5-5 (5%) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | -4 | 5 | |
| 60 | wuQVIDlu, HadiFRU | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | eRdaZV, z.z. | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| 65 | ABaUh, oshBiRl | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| 67 | SFIj, GusUiLI | gXO - CIiZh's gRZasaIj | ||||||||||||||||
| wIUil | 49-10 (01.7%) | 2-86 (42.6%) | 65-64 (91.7%) | 7 | 45 | 47 | 45 | 81 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 67 | 652 | 72 | |||
Terms:
Field Goals : 2PM-A (2 point Field Goal made-attempts) 3PM-A (3 point Field Goal made-attempts) FTM-A (free throws made-attempt)
Rebounds : OFF (Offensive) DEF (Defensive) TOT (total)
Fouls : CM (Committed) RV (received)
Blocks : FV (In Favor) AG (Against)
Other terms : MIN (minutes) AST (assists) ST (steals) TO (Turnovers) PTS (points) RNK (ranking)
