Written by Rich Swerbinsky

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Team Rallies in Fourth Quarter, LeBron Watches

No LeBron, no problem. 

Just another come from behind win for the Cavaliers.  The Cavaliers have now won 22 games this season that they have trailed in the fourth quarter, good for tops in the NBA.

Throughout most of this one, it appeared as if the Cavs were going to be swept in their season series against the Knicks (22-56), who the Cavs hadn’t beaten in 14 months.  The Cavs looked how they often look when King James is not on the floor: confused, directionless, and non-assertive.  Trailing 80-71, the Cavs started a furious fourth quarter rally, reeling off eleven straight points to seize an 82-80 advantage.  They never looked back, cruising to a 91-87 win aided by clutch foul shooting down the stretch.

The win was the tenth straight at home, and moved the team to 30-10 at Quicken Loans Arena on the season.  They moved their record to 48-31, which is the most wins for this franchise since the 1992-1993 season.

Larry Hughes had an excellent game for the Cavs, a great sign with the playoffs now just eight days away.  Hughes got the start in place of the injured LeBron James, and played 40 minutes, scoring 26 points, and adding 13 rebounds and 6 assists.  Hughes played a big part in the rally, knocking down a couple big buckets late, and playing lockdown perimeter defense.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks.  Donyell Marshall scored 17, and Flip Murray poured in 11 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a big three pointer with 41 seconds left that essentially pounded the nails in the Knick coffin.

Knicks coach Larry Brown was forced to leave the teams’ bench in the third quarter due to an illness.  He spent the night in a Cleveland area hospital.  And LeBron James was courtside for this one in a snazzy suit, and at least to me, didn’t appear to be limping much at all.