McDonald: James, Cavs Vent Frustration On Spurs

[duncan228]

Edit: Updated version, 'Bloody Sunday for Spurs in Cleveland' in post #15.

James, Cavs vent frustration on Spurs (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/James_Cavs_vent_frustration_on_Spurs.html)
Jeff McDonald

CLEVELAND – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a few choice words when he heard his team would be facing the Cleveland Cavaliers on the heels of a two-game losing streak.

Most of them can’t be printed here.

“We knew we were in trouble,” Popovich said. “I was to find out who the scheduler was who made us play this game after they lost their last two.”

Fueled by twin humiliations, and back on their home court at Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James and the Cavaliers took out their frustrations on the Spurs in a 101-81 victory.

James had 38 points and Delonte West and Mo Williams each tossed in 22 for the Cavs, who easily averted their first three-game losing streak of the season.

The victory moved Cleveland to 37-1 at home this season, and kept the Cavs (62-15) in front of the Lakers for the best record in the league.

With it, the Cavs erased the sting of a 29-point loss at Orlando on Friday, which was preceded by a loss at Washington on Thursday.

“It’s always humbling (to lose),” James said. “You can’t just go out there and think you can turn it on whenever you need to, or you’ll get embarrassed.”

Tony Parker had 24 points to lead the Spurs, who have dropped three of their last four and find themselves clawing to hold on to a top-four seed in the Western Conference. Drew Gooden, a former Cavs forward, contributed 15 off the bench as the Spurs fell to 49-27.

Those were the only Spurs players to score in double figures.

Tim Duncan could not take advantage of a Cleveland front line down two big bodies (Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace). He had just six points, attempting just seven shots.

Manu Ginobili scored just four points, going 3 of 9 from the field and 0 from 6 from the 3-point line.

The Spurs, as has been their way of late, couldn’t find their shooting stroke. They shot 31.9 percent from the field, and had another tough game from long distance (4 of 16).

“It helps, when you play basketball, when you make shots,” Parker said.

James had no such problem. He opened the game with 18 points in the first quarter, making six in a row at one point.

Still, the Spurs weathered that storm well, and trailed just 28-27 heading into the second.

The wheels came off for the Spurs in the first five minutes of the second. With James taking a breather, Williams and West combined for a 10-0 Cavaliers run.

The Spurs did not score in the quarter until Roger Mason Jr. made a pair of foul shots with 6:58 until halftime.

After trailing by 13 at intermission, the Spurs made a quick push at the start of the third quarter. When Gooden tapped in a Parker miss at the 7:21 mark, it brought the Spurs within 62-57.

Then came another Spurs scoring drought, and another Cleveland run. Williams knocked down a 3-pointer, and a runner, to kick-start a 13-3 run that put the Cavaliers ahead 75-60 and poured gasoline on the rout.

[ducks]

manu 6 three attempts
WHY
DRIVE YOU IDIOT

[E20]

"We knew we were in trouble,” Popovich said. “I was to find out who the scheduler was who made us play this game after they lost their last two.”

That's Pops excuse? WTF

[Obstructed_View]

That's Pops excuse? WTF

Yeah, this self-deprecating act is wearing really thin. Where's the fucking pride? The Spurs used to really step up to challenges.

[kace]

Yeah, this self-deprecating act is wearing really thin. Where's the fucking pride? The Spurs used to really step up to challenges.

he's pushing his cynical humor and his stoicism way too far. i'm not worried about tim, manu, tony or bruce (if he's used). they're veterans and proven winners. they'll be poised, focused and motivated for PO.

but the supporting cast, with a lot of new (and some young) players, needs a little more of old Pop shouting in their head.

Though, it would help if Pop wasn't one of those who need to take his head out of his ass.

[Kori Ellis]

That's Pops excuse? WTF

He was being sarcastic.

[spurtech09]

to much jumpshots...drive more..go more to the freethrow line...take care of ball

[duncan228]

The other side.

Two-game slip? Never fear, LeBron is here (http://www.ohio.com/sports/42503062.html)
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports writer

CLEVELAND: Gregg Popovich emerged from the San Antonio Spurs locker room and strode into the middle of the media huddle.

''I thought the Cavs [made a particular inhaling sound] today,'' Popovich said.

With a straight face.

''If I were them, I'd be really be worried,'' he continued.

The face remained straight.

''I don't know if they're going to win any more games,'' he said.

He then said the Spurs ''tricked'' the Cavs by giving them a game, then asked: ''Don't you agree?''

For the record, and just in case it's needed, sarcasm oozed from every word.

Because the Cavs manhandled the Spurs at the Q, winning 101-81 and taking charge of the game, pretty much for good, in the second quarter.

Popovich's wry beginning — also for the record, he said the Cavs were ''terrific'' — was about all that needed to be said. This win Sunday came after the Cavs had left their followers a little unsettled by consecutive losses in Washington and Orlando, the last a most humbling defeat.

Sunday it was the Spurs' turn to experience some humility — and for the Cavs to re-establish themselves as the best team in the league.

The Cavs beat San Antonio going away. LeBron James led the way, scoring 18 points in the first quarter and 38 for the game.

''I was serious about today's game,'' James said.

Duly noted. Especially in pregame, as the Cavs dispensed with their pregame ''photographs.'' Instead of playing tourist with his teammates, James simply strode to the court.

The Spurs started the game not double-teaming James, and he got his team going, making 6-of-9 first-quarter shots.

This came even though the home crowd seemed a little apprehensive as things got under way.

It is Cleveland, after all, where sports disaster seems to wait just around the corner. So when a team loses two in a row in disturbing fashion, folks start to wonder — never mind that said team still has the league's best record and still has the NBA's best player and (should there be a just basketball God) this season's MVP.

At one point in the game, the big screen at the Q showed a sign held up by a fan that read: ''Cavs' LeBron goes Popeye.''

Except James doesn't need spinach.

He quite simply was born with greatness.

The proof came in several plays. There was the time James stood well beyond the 3-point line with about a minute left in the third quarter. The shot clock was winding down, but James rose up over Bruce Bowen and made a 30-foot 3 as if he were standing two feet from the basket.

Or the play when he drilled for two from just inside the 3-point line with a second left on the shot clock after the Spurs had cut the lead to 84-75.

Or the play that followed Delonte West's 3-pointer that made the score 89-75. James avoided a double-team, drew defenders as he dribbled to the hoop and found West in the exact same spot for another 3.

That 92-75 lead was too much to overcome.

But for good measure, a step-back 3 from James made it 95-75.

Next time anyone gets nervous about an embarrassing loss on the road, it's probably wise to remember the adage: Never fear, LeBron is here.

For good measure, the game also saw James guard Tony Parker, who scored 14 points in the first quarter when James was not guarding him and 10 the rest of the game.

Superstars enjoy many elements of the game, but there aren't many superstars who will take on the challenge of guarding one of the league's best point guards.

Cleveland's does.

James' total line: 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Not a bad afternoon's work for the NBA's soon-to-be MVP.

The Cavs did not play well the previous two games. It prompted a slight eyebrow raise — and had coach Mike Brown saying before the game: ''It was a wake-up call that maybe was needed.''

The Cavs responded — a sign of a good team.

They treated the vaunted Spurs defense the way Orlando treated the vaunted Cavs defense.

The Cavs shot 53.4 percent, with James (14-for-21), Mo Williams (9-for-15) and Delonte West (10-for-15) leading the way.

But the real question is whether any wake-up call is needed when James is on the team.

He simply brings too much to the court in smarts and awareness to let any kind of slide linger.

And two games does not constitute a slide.

It's a slip.

Sunday's win means the crisis — such as it was — has been averted.

[Bender]

He was being sarcastic.

yeah, the schedule was done at THE BEGINNING of the season. He was JOKING you dumbasses...

[E20]

Why would Pop even go that route? Sarcasm? Joking? I would be mad, not put on my happy clown act.

[The Truth #6]

Why would Pop even go that route? Sarcasm? Joking? I would be mad, not put on my happy clown act.

Isn't Pop usually sarcastic? And I doubt he was smiles and giggles when he said it.

[E20]

Isn't Pop usually sarcastic? And I doubt he was smiles and giggles when he said it.

Yeah, but I was hoping he would rip the Spurs while he was being sarcastic.

Does anybody know if Pop has pulled the soft card out yet?

[SPURS50]

Hey Pop how do you beat the Cavs on there home court? Be the Lakers, and were not the Lakers!

[duncan228]

Updated.

Bloody Sunday for Spurs in Cleveland (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/James_Cavs_vent_frustration_on_Spurs.html)
Jeff McDonald

CLEVELAND — LeBron James sat on the bench late in the Cavaliers' 101-81 Sunday afternoon romp over the Spurs. His eyes were watering. A wad of tissue was crammed up his right nostril.

If it looked as if he had just been in a street fight, well, you should have seen the other guys.

James had 38 points, Delonte West and Mo Williams each had 22, and the Cavaliers handed the Spurs their most lopsided loss in nearly three months. By the end of it, even coach Gregg Popovich seemed punch drunk.

“The Cavs just sucked,” Popovich said, with playful sarcasm. “If I were them, I'd be really worried. I don't think they're going to win any more games, as bad as they played.”

His sardonic soliloquy complete, Popovich inhaled, looked at the ground and cursed.

It was that kind of day for the Spurs, who are still struggling to gain traction as the postseason approaches. They are 10-10 in their past 20 games, and are hanging on to a half-game lead over the Rockets for the third seed in the Western Conference.

In some ways, the Spurs (49-27) saw their latest loss coming all the way from Indianapolis. While they were holding on for dear life to put away the Pacers on Friday, Orlando was busy administering the Cavs a 29-point beatdown.

That was the second loss in a row for Cleveland, just its second two-game losing streak of the season. Even before the Spurs walked into Quicken Loans Arena, they were braced for impact.

“We knew we were in trouble,” Popovich said.

Before the day was over, the Spurs had suffered their worst defeat since losing 109-87 in Philadelphia on Jan. 16. Meanwhile, the Cavs extended their record to an NBA-best 62-15, including a franchise-record 37-1 at home.

“Our last two games, we didn't play Cavaliers basketball and got embarrassed,” James said. “To come back home and play like we did is a good sign.”

For the Spurs, all signs Sunday were bad. At this point, it would be a hard sell to call this game an NBA Finals preview.

Parker led the Spurs with 24 points. Drew Gooden, the former Cav, had 15 off the bench. No other player Spurs player hit double figures.

Tim Duncan could not take advantage of a Cleveland frontcourt down two wide bodies (Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace). He scored just six points on seven field goal attempts, none after the first quarter. Manu Ginobili managed just four points, and missed all six of his 3-point tries.

One indicator of the Spurs' struggles: James, West and Williams combined to outscore the Spurs 82-81.

“It helps, when you play basketball, when you make shots,” Parker noted.

The Cavaliers can vouch for that, starting with James.

The Spurs dared him to settle for jumpers early, and he happily obliged, knocking down six of his first seven. By the end of the first quarter, he was up to 18 points.

Still, the Spurs weathered James' jump-shooting storm and trailed by just one point entering the second quarter. The game began to come unraveled when, with James resting, Williams and West traded baskets during a 10-0 Cleveland run to open the frame.

Down 13 at half, the Spurs pulled within 62-57 on Gooden's tip with 7:21 to go in the third quarter. After that, Williams threw in another 3-pointer, followed it with a pull-up jumper, and the Spurs went cold again.

Heading into the fourth, the Spurs were behind by 15. The game was all but decided.

Which is how James came to be sitting on the bench with about two minutes to go, nursing a nosebleed. The culprit wasn't wearing silver and black.

“It was Joe Smith,” James said. “He went to give me a high-five, and he hit me in my damn nose.”

It was that kind of day for the Cavs. The only thing they botched was the celebration.

The Spurs leave Cleveland with their own wounds to lick. From here, they head to Oklahoma City for a game Tuesday against a team that has suddenly become as difficult for them to beat as the Lakers.

Asked if six regular-season games are enough for the Spurs to get things together, Parker shrugged.

“We have no choice,” he said.

[Obstructed_View]

He was being sarcastic.

Everybody knows. It's basically the only language he speaks for several years now. It would be nice to see him publicly show some backbone and say that he's going to throw his team out there and try to win. Instead, Spurs fans get to sit here and be grateful that he didn't sit Parker out for a nationally televised game against a playoff-caliber opponent.