The Cavs really do care after all. They're just not very good.

Wednesday night, almost two weeks after obediently shuffling their way to a 118-90 loss to the Heat in LeBron's return to Cleveland, the Cavs played Miami on the shores of Biscayne Bay, and achieved the acceptable result we all wanted earlier in the month.

The Cavs are probably incapable of beating Miami unless LeBron and Dwyane Wade get lost on the way to the arena. But they can at least play the Heat tough and force them to work for the win.

That's what the Cavs did. Miami hasn't lost since that game in Cleveland, and the Cavs haven't won. But recent performance didn't seem to matter to either team. The Cavs stiffened what backbone they do have and forced Miami into a staredown that lasted well into the second half.

The Cavs held a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter and a three-point lead at halftime. Anyone in Cleveland who bothered to tune in and watch the game was undoubtedly waiting for the Miami scoring spurt that would seal the game. It didn't ever really come.

Miami's lead did balloon to double digits midway through the fourth quarter, but a 12-1 run pulled the Cavs (7-18) to as close as three points before the team effort ran out of gas. But not before Daniel Gibson and Mo Williams had the opportunity to tie the game with three-ball tries.

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Sold to the bidder from Austin, Texas for $4.3 million. 13 rules, two pieces of paper, one certified check. David and Suzanne Booth are now the proud owners of basketball's origins.

The Kansas City Star predicted the Sothebys equivalent of a Walmart Black Friday:

Naismith's rules for basketball should draw frenzy at auction

The New York Times burst that bubble:

The auction began at $1.4 million, with [David] Booth bidding against one other person.

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The longest losing streak in seven years got one game longer on Sunday night- and it was never even close. Taking control of the game with a blistering first-quarter run, the Oklahoma City Thunder jumped out to a big early lead and built on it from there, coasting to a 106-77 win over the beleaguered Cavaliers. Cleveland has now lost eight in a row, its longest losing streak since early in LeBron James’s rookie season of 2003-04. When the Cavaliers will win another game is anyone’s guess, but it wasn’t going to happen against the Thunder.

Oklahoma City, which boasts the highest scoring duo in the NBA in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, made it happen with a quartet on Sunday night. Durant led the way with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting while Westbrook enjoyed a double-double of 14 points and 11 assists. They were abetted by Jeff Green and James Harden, who each poured in 19 points. Overall the four young stars scored 77 points, equaling Cleveland’s team total. For the game Oklahoma City shot 53.2 percent and got pretty much whatever it wanted all night, inside or out, half-court or transition. The Thunder scored 56 points in the paint, 29 on fast breaks and dished out 25 assists in a brutally efficient offensive performance.

Cleveland, on the other hand, was its usual dismal self. The Cavaliers shot 33.8 percent from the field, committed 16 turnovers to 11 assists and failed to take advantage of 16 offensive rebounds. Only two players scored in double figures- Anthony Parker, who scored 12 and Daniel Gibson, who tallied 11. The only Cavalier who played well was Anderson Varejao, who grabbed a season-best 16 rebounds and added seven points in the losing effort.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were in Houston to play the Rockets on Saturday night.

No, they didn't win . . . and no, it wasn't all that close.

The Cavs lost 95-110, to drop their record to 7-16.  They've now lost seven straight, which dates back to their win against Memphis in Cleveland during Thanksgiving weekend.  They've also now lost eight straight away games, dating back to a November 9th win in New Jersey.  Yup, that was over a month ago.

The Rockets, who actually seem much better than their 9-14 record, were also without two key players:  Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks.

As usual, the Rockets' Luis Scola was uncontainable.  He had 14 points and 14 rebounds (including six offensive boards).  And Kevin Martin had arguably his best game of the season, with a season-high 40 points (on 13-of-17 shooting).

Cleveland also had a rest advantage on Houston.  The Cavs last played (and lost) on Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls at The Q.  The Rockets were on the second half of a back-to-back.  They lost to the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday night.  But that didn't end up being a factor.

Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better for the Cavs.

The Houston game was the start of a four-game road trip, which will next stop in Oklahoma City (16-8) tonight, in Miami (17-8) on Wednesday night, and then in Indiana (11-11) on Friday.

All that being said, there definitely were some positives in this game.

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