Last night's game vs. the Rockets at the Q gave us another chance to see just how good these Cavaliers are. They answered the call with a decisive 99-90 victory (highlights) to push their home record to 14-0 and their latest winning streak to four games. Again, the formula was solid defense and timely offense in a tough, physical matchup.
At one point in the fourth quarter the Cavs pushed their lead to 14 points, but some hot outside shooting and non-stop calls in Houston's favor (Yao Ming had 12 free throws in the 4th quarter alone) got the Rockets right back into the game. That point was the first time in a while that the Cavs have really been tested at home, clinging to a two-point lead with 5:34 remaining. But Boobie Gibson stepped up with two huge threes, Anderson Varejao hit a running hook shot, and Mo Williams buried two dagger shots down the stretch. And LeBron capped things off with a highlight-reel rejection of Yao to whip the home crowd into a frenzy.
LBJ and Mo again led the way for the CavsHouston is a much better team than I thought going into this one. Their defense forced the Cavs off balance at times, but the coaching staff made some nice adjustments in the second half. Make no mistake about it - this was a quality win over a quality opponent. The going should get easier over the next couple weeks for the Cavs, starting tomorrow night against the Wizards and old friend DeShawn Stevenson. I'm looking forward to spending Christmas night in the Q watching him get schooled by the King yet again...
