It wasn't a total loss...

After all the build-up for the game and huge hopes Cavaliers fans had heading into Friday night's showdown with the Celtics, the 105-94 loss in Boston was a tremendous disappointment. Whether it was watching the Cavs pile up a puzzling 11 missed free throws, seeing Leon Powe destroy us in the paint, having that blubbery whale "Big Baby" Davis clothesline Andy, hearing the obnoxious Boston crowd cheering in delight, or just observing the overall shrinking of the Cavs in another big road game, everything on the night was quite disheartening. It was honestly the most frustrated and upset I've been watching a Cavs game all season. Just a huge emotional letdown.

Thankfully the team played again less than 24 hours later, taking on the Heat on Saturday night in the friendly confines of the Q. And they righted the ship nicely, sprinting out to a 28-14 lead after the first quarter on their way to a 99-89 win (highlights) over Miami. They built a 20-plus point lead at various points midway through the game before the Heat fought back to make a game of it. Mo Williams led the team in scoring for a second night in a row... and even on a night when his shot wasn't falling LBJ still found a way to contribute, piling up a 14-10-12 triple double.

Joe Smith made his return to the Q on Saturday night

Friday's loss was still burning with me yesterday until some better news arrived - the Orlando Magic waltzed into Boston and beat the Celtics. I was following the game online and after a 22-point Magic lead was trimmed to just 3 late in the fourth I was sure the Celtics would find a way to win it... but thankfully Orlando held on. So really from a Cavalier fan perspective we can almost look at it as if the Magic erased our mistake from Friday night. Granted, a 3-1 season series win over Boston would have been nice if we have to come down to a tiebreaker scenario to determine the top seed in the East. But we still have a two-game cushion on the Celtics in the loss column. And it's becoming more apparent that Orlando isn't just going to roll over and die. So in the final 20 games of the season there are still three huge games looming: 3/17 vs. Orlando, 4/3 @ Orlando, and 4/12 vs. Boston. I'm elated that two of those will be at the Q (it seems like every big game we've had has been on the road this year). But first things first - one final trip out West for a three game set beginning tomorrow night in LA. We're still in a great spot as we enter the last quarter of the regular season. Go Cavs.