10 years gone

The Cavaliers strolled into Phoenix last night having last won a game there 10 years ago (check out some of the names in that box score). They needed a win badly just to keep pace with the Lakers, who won earlier in the night, and to stretch their lead a bit on Boston who was idle. In a season full of meaningful road wins, the Cavs were able to notch another one as they exited with a hard-fought 119-111 win (highlights). In the process, the team established a new franchise record for road wins in a season with their 23rd in 34 tries. Not too shabby.

And oh by they way, LeBron was stellar again, notching his third consecutive triple-double with a sparkling 34/10/13 line. And the King had some big help from some of his buddies. Mo Williams was again outstanding, chipping in 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting (including 6-for-10 from 3-point range). And Mike Brown even dusted the cobwebs off of Sasha Pavlovic who responded with 16 much-needed points off the bench, including 3-5 from deep in the US Airways Center (in my best AC voice - I hate TNT games). Sasha was needed because Delonte West again went down hard on a drive to the basket and ended up with what the team is describing as "back spasms." Let's hope for the best for Delonte, who has already had a tough road trip.

Brother Red took another hard fall on Thursday night

It wasn't a pretty win by any stretch of the imagination. The Cavs interior defense was shredded again in the absence of Ben Wallace. There were a lot of unnecessary turnovers. They had to fight back from behind on the road again in the 4th quarter. But in the end they got the job done with some timely clutch shooting (again). LeBron had to log heavy minutes (again) and it seems to be showing as he missed two more dunks, which adds up to 4 in his last 3 games by my count. He seems to have some tired legs... but then again, not too tired to make three dazzling blocks, including a tremendous chase-down of a Jason Richardson 360 attempt. In the end, I'll take it. Especially given this was their 9th game in the last 15 days.

The road trip finally comes to an end tonight in Sacramento. This might be a good opportunity to rest Delonte's ailing back. And hopefully the team can jump out to a lead and rest some of the starters. One thing's for certain - we can all finally get back to a normal sleep schedule after tonight. These West coast trips during the week are just brutal. Go Cavs.

Mo-mentum

While it wasn't exactly pretty, the Cavaliers' 109-92 win (highlights) over the Suns last night at the Q was just what the team needed heading into the All-Star break. The victory erased the team's first losing streak of the season and left them feeling positive about their outstanding 40-11 start to the season. That marks record for the earliest a Cavs team has ever gotten to 40 wins - by comparison they didn't reach their 40th win last year until March 21st. Now it's time for some rest and relaxation while everyone (besides LeBron and Mo) can heal up and get back to 100% again. Ben, Z, and Wally in particular look like they can definitely use the break. And we should be seeing Delonte West return to action next week, which will be a sight for this Cavs fan's sore eyes.

Mo Williams led the way last night, taking advantage of the Suns "defense" (if you can call it that) and torching them for a career-high 44 points on 18-of-26 shooting, including 7-of-9 from three-point range. LeBron chipped in 26 points of his own, as the tandem of Mo and LBJ became the first NBA teammates with back-to-back 40+ point games in almost 8 years. I particularly enjoyed the pair's post-game interview with Jeff Phelps on FSN Ohio. They looked like they will be enjoying each other's company this weekend in Phoenix. And we'll be seeing more of Mo than we expected, as he will also be participating in the All-Star skills competition on Saturday night.

Mo piled up a career-high 44 on Wednesday night

It should be a fun and well-deserved weekend for all the Cavaliers involved in the weekend festivities, especially Mike Brown and his staff. This is a nice chance for them to get some recognition for this team's success. And I fully expect Mike to force Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to play maximum minutes in Sunday's game in an effort to wear them down for the second half of the season. Soon it will be back to the grind as the Cavs return to the court next Tuesday night to face the Raptors in Toronto. That will be the first road game in a stretch of 10 of 14 away from the Q for the Cavs. You gotta love the NBA. I particularly am looking forward the stretch of four road games in five nights from 2/26-3/2 (@Houston, @San Antonio, day off, @Atlanta, @Miami). Ugh. The good news is that after that 14 game stretch we do finish with 12 of 17 in the friendly confines of the Q. So rest up guys, you've earned it. Time to get ready for the stretch run...

Finally, a losing streak

You knew it would happen eventually, and the Cavaliers almost made it to the All-Star break without a losing streak. But it finally caught up with them last night in a heartbreaking 96-95 loss (highlights) in Indiana to the Pacers. After TJ Ford gave the Pacers a two-point lead with .8 seconds left it appeared hopeless. But the Cavs drew up a great inbounds play with a lob pass to LeBron from the sideline and he was fouled by Danny Granger with just .4 seconds left. LeBron hit two huge pressure free throws and it appeared the game was headed for overtime. But amazingly, the Pacers ran a similar inbounds play with a lob to Granger, and referee Joey Crawford had the audacity to whistle LeBron for the foul with .1 second left on the clock in one of the all-time worst make-up calls that I've ever witnessed. And of course Granger made one free throw to end the game.

The infamous make-up call with 0.1 left on the clock

I won't waste my time complaining about that call, as awful as it was. I'll leave that to Mike Brown. The main problem was how everyone besides LeBron played last night. No one showed up at all to help him out. The interior defense was again pathetic most of the night. No one could hit an open shot. I shudder to think how ugly it would have been without LBJ's heroics (47 points on 15-of-21 shooting, including 13-for-14 from the line). Particularly bad performances were put up by Boobie (2-for-7 shooting and 5 fouls in 26 minutes) and Z (5-for-17 shooting and 5 fouls in 36 minutes).

But I won't panic after this loss. The team is clearly limping to the upcoming All-Star break with all the injured bodies. They are still 39-11 and 23-1 at home. But tonight's game at the Q vs. the Suns becomes imperative for them to win in order to head into the break on a high note. Let's hope LeBron gets some help from the rest of his able-bodied teammates. 40-11 would sound a hell of a lot better than 39-12, right?