Cleveland Cavaliers to Assigne Shannon Brown to Rio Grande Valley Vipers

The Cavaliers are expected to assign Shannon Brown to Rio Grande Valley today and he should be in the lineup for Saturday’s game at Tulsa.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, last week sent forward Cedric Simmons to the NBA Development League team but was recalled  after playing three games in the D-League. Simmons averaged 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game.

Cavaliers Showcase their flaws against the Hawks

James scored 14 of his 31 points in the final quarter while the rest of the Cavaliers didn’t do much to help.

Damon Jones had 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting and Drew Gooden, with 10 points and 11 rebounds, was Cleveland’s only other scorer in double figures

The Cavs were down by five when Drew Gooden travelled with 1:46  left in the fourth.Johnson scored on a driving layup with 1:25 left and that ended the Cavaliers’ momentum.
That would have decided the game and cut the lead to 3. “Which is why Drew often isn’t in the game in those circumstances” Windhorst said on his blog.

“When you’re down so many points sometimes, no matter how many plays you make, if the other team can make one play it’s going to kill you,” James said.

Larry Hughes had only five points on 2 for 11 shooting. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had seven points and wasn’t much help.

Anderson Varejao left the court with 9:16 left in the fourth quarter with a bruised left knee and a strained left Achilles’. He fell to the floor after a collision with Horford. No foul was called. Varejao limped off the court and was escorted to the Cleveland locker room and didn’t return.

Recape | Box Score

News from local media:

Cleveland Cavaliers drop first at Atlanta since 2003 The Plain Dealer
LeBron can’t win by himself  | Akron Beacon Journal

News from Atlanta:

You must be “Joshing” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Is Damon Jones Back?

During a timeout in the first half, Mike Brown inserted Damon Jones into the game after not playing for seven games and five games since he refused to report against the Heat on Christmas Day.

Mike Brown said, he had a gut feeling. “It was not planned, I just felt it was time to call his number,” Brown said. ”He did it, he came through for us.”

Damon Jones played 18 minutes and all of the 4th quarter. He played solid defense and drilled two 3-pointers.

Do you see Mike Brown playing Damon Jones more in the next few games or was that only to show case him to another team?

Putting him on the court with James, Daniel Gibson and Anderson Varejao in the fourth quarter was the same thing the Cavs did late in games in last year’s playoffs.

Lebron James Named Player of The Week

This is probably not a surprise to anyone who watched Lebron James the past few games. Lebron averaged 33 points, 8 rebounds and 8.3 assists. The Cavaliers also went 3-0 last week.

Yesterday, James had 39 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in the Cavaliers’ 93-90 win over Toronto.

Iverson was selected the NBA’s Western Conference player of the week after averaging 33.3 points and 5 assists a game.

Lebron Sets Another Record, Explodes in 4th Quarter to Rally Past Raptors

Lebron James sets another team record by scoring 24 points in one quarter. He finished the game with 39 points 11 rebounds and 8 assists to beat the Toronto Raptors 93-90.

“I just felt like I was out there by myself,” Lebron said. “Everything was going right for me and I just felt like I was out there in practice. The hoop felt like the ocean.”

“This was impressive because of the circumstances,” Gooden said. “We were down 20 on the road and we could have easily given in. He was attacking the basket and knocking down outside shots.”

“He just took the ballgame over and put us on his back,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “What a tremendous, tremendous performance by LeBron James in the fourth quarter.”

Larry Hughes scored 14 points and Drew Gooden added 10 points and 12 boards.

The Cavs (17-17) have won three in a row and five-of-six, getting back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 4.

Damon Jones played his first game after he was fined by the Cavaliers for refusing to play in the final minutes of the Miami  Heat game. He scored 6 on two 3-pints attempts and had key defensive stops in 18 minutes of play.

The Cavs outscored the Raptors by 16 points in the final 12 minutes, completing a comeback from 20 points behind. It was the biggest lead the Raptors have ever given up at home in their 12-year history.

NBA Recap | Box Score

News from local media
– LeBron dons hero’s cape
– Jones steps up after hiatus
Cavs guard hits crucial 3-pointers in comeback

News from national media
– Cavaliers superstar in a league of his own (Toronto Star)
– King James reigns over Raptors collapse (Toronto Star)
Much of the talk today will be of LeBron James and his fourth-quarter brilliance yesterday … the 24 points he scored, the passes he made, the way he dominated the game as few in the NBA can.

Cavs top Kings

King James had 24 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds as the Cavaliers beat the visiting Sacramento Kings 97 to 93.  Usually LeBron is the scoring machine in the 4th quarter.  But in this game he was 0-6 from the field.  The difference is he had 5 assists, with Gibson hitting a clutch 3 pointer to seal the game.

NBA Boxscore

Local Media

 Cavs Steal Win with Dismal Play

Lebron helps Cavs pass by Kings late

National Media 

LeBron James scores 24 points as Cavaliers hold off Kings 97-93

Another one slips away for the Kings