ducks
12-04-2004, 01:14 PM
Frustrated James gets away from hecklers
By Brian Windhorst, Beacon Journal staff writer
DENVER - The Cavaliers passed a test Thursday night, but it didn't have anything to do with their impressive 92-73 road victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Once LeBron James left the floor for good with about six minutes to play, it signaled a mass exodus from the sold-out Pepsi Center but not the end of the intrigue. With the gathering sparse and the effects of alcohol starting to show up, several groups of fans began heckling the Cavaliers' bench in the waning moments of the blowout.
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After the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills last month, everyone in the NBA is more sensitive about these situations. While the hecklers were ribbing just about anyone wearing wine and gold, James was the main target.
After a few minutes, a frustrated James got up from the bench and told his teammates "I gotta get away from these guys" and moved down to the baseline for the remainder of the game.
Moments later, security officials ejected one of the hecklers.
The fans in Denver are right behind the bench with no barrier in between.
"I felt like some things could've gotten out of hand so I was just trying to control myself the best way I could," James said after the game. "You have to be very careful after what happened (in Detroit)."
The brawl in Detroit was triggered when someone in the stands threw a cup at Indiana's Ron Artest. Not that such a situation was brewing in Denver, but at least two of the hecklers had cups of beer. James' actions seemed to diffuse the situation and also seemed to make the security officials take notice.
"The fans were right behind us and in our ear," Drew Gooden said. "They say you have to be the bigger person, but there is only so much you can take. It's not like you can't hear them."
Cavaliers coach Paul Silas has been hearing from hecklers throughout his 40-year NBA career.
Last season he even got into an entertaining little exchange with a heckler in Detroit who was sitting in the same section where this season's brawl broke out.
He took Thursday's situation with a grain of salt, but he was pleased the way his team handled it.
"That is normal stuff. As long as they don't curse, they can heckle all they want," Silas said. "I thought we handled it well."
Harris breaking out?
After an anemic start, off-season free-agent pickup Lucious Harris is finally starting to show what he can do. He had a great three-game road trip, shooting 55 percent from the field and averaging 10.3 points.
At the start of the trip, he was shooting just 29 percent and averaging 3.2 points.
His production at backup shooting guard and small forward helped the Cavaliers' reserves average 31.7 points on the trip, the best spurt of the season.
"I've felt good all year. They just weren't falling," Harris said. "I'm just being aggressive, getting open looks and they're falling in."
Varejao gets time
Silas chose to give rookie Anderson Varejao the most minutes of the season at backup power forward and center against the Nuggets' athletic front line of Kenyon Martin, Nene, and Marcus Camby on Thursday.
Varejao responded with a career-high seven points and also delivered an impressive block on Nene in the third quarter.
DeSagana Diop, who had been getting the most minutes as the backup big man with Robert Traylor, did not play.
Dribbles
Starting guard Ira Newble averaged just 15 minutes per game on the road trip while recovering from a cold.... Jeff McInnis has made eight of his past 12 3-pointers.... Eric Snow and his Shoot 4 the Moon Foundation is conducting a toy drive for underprivileged children. Fans can bring new, unwrapped toys to Cavaliers home games until Dec. 18; collection bins will be at all entrances.
Messages for Brian Windhorst can be left at 330-996-3819 or [email protected] Check out Windhorst's Cavaliers weblog at http://clevelandcavs.blogspot.com.
Updated on Saturday,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=knight-frustratedjamesgetsawayfr&prov=knight&type=lgns
By Brian Windhorst, Beacon Journal staff writer
DENVER - The Cavaliers passed a test Thursday night, but it didn't have anything to do with their impressive 92-73 road victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Once LeBron James left the floor for good with about six minutes to play, it signaled a mass exodus from the sold-out Pepsi Center but not the end of the intrigue. With the gathering sparse and the effects of alcohol starting to show up, several groups of fans began heckling the Cavaliers' bench in the waning moments of the blowout.
ADVERTISEMENT
After the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills last month, everyone in the NBA is more sensitive about these situations. While the hecklers were ribbing just about anyone wearing wine and gold, James was the main target.
After a few minutes, a frustrated James got up from the bench and told his teammates "I gotta get away from these guys" and moved down to the baseline for the remainder of the game.
Moments later, security officials ejected one of the hecklers.
The fans in Denver are right behind the bench with no barrier in between.
"I felt like some things could've gotten out of hand so I was just trying to control myself the best way I could," James said after the game. "You have to be very careful after what happened (in Detroit)."
The brawl in Detroit was triggered when someone in the stands threw a cup at Indiana's Ron Artest. Not that such a situation was brewing in Denver, but at least two of the hecklers had cups of beer. James' actions seemed to diffuse the situation and also seemed to make the security officials take notice.
"The fans were right behind us and in our ear," Drew Gooden said. "They say you have to be the bigger person, but there is only so much you can take. It's not like you can't hear them."
Cavaliers coach Paul Silas has been hearing from hecklers throughout his 40-year NBA career.
Last season he even got into an entertaining little exchange with a heckler in Detroit who was sitting in the same section where this season's brawl broke out.
He took Thursday's situation with a grain of salt, but he was pleased the way his team handled it.
"That is normal stuff. As long as they don't curse, they can heckle all they want," Silas said. "I thought we handled it well."
Harris breaking out?
After an anemic start, off-season free-agent pickup Lucious Harris is finally starting to show what he can do. He had a great three-game road trip, shooting 55 percent from the field and averaging 10.3 points.
At the start of the trip, he was shooting just 29 percent and averaging 3.2 points.
His production at backup shooting guard and small forward helped the Cavaliers' reserves average 31.7 points on the trip, the best spurt of the season.
"I've felt good all year. They just weren't falling," Harris said. "I'm just being aggressive, getting open looks and they're falling in."
Varejao gets time
Silas chose to give rookie Anderson Varejao the most minutes of the season at backup power forward and center against the Nuggets' athletic front line of Kenyon Martin, Nene, and Marcus Camby on Thursday.
Varejao responded with a career-high seven points and also delivered an impressive block on Nene in the third quarter.
DeSagana Diop, who had been getting the most minutes as the backup big man with Robert Traylor, did not play.
Dribbles
Starting guard Ira Newble averaged just 15 minutes per game on the road trip while recovering from a cold.... Jeff McInnis has made eight of his past 12 3-pointers.... Eric Snow and his Shoot 4 the Moon Foundation is conducting a toy drive for underprivileged children. Fans can bring new, unwrapped toys to Cavaliers home games until Dec. 18; collection bins will be at all entrances.
Messages for Brian Windhorst can be left at 330-996-3819 or [email protected] Check out Windhorst's Cavaliers weblog at http://clevelandcavs.blogspot.com.
Updated on Saturday,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=knight-frustratedjamesgetsawayfr&prov=knight&type=lgns