Written by Brian McPeek

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It may be early February as well as 40 degrees and wet outside, but inside Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night it felt like late May. The Cavs and Celtics got together for a basketball game Tuesday night that had all the intensity and drama of a playoff game despite both teams being short key contributors. The result was an entertaining and frantic 114-113 Cavaliers victory. Brian McPeek tells us all about it.

It may be early February as well as 40 degrees and wet outside, but inside Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night it felt like late May.

The Cavs and Celtics got together for a basketball game Tuesday night that had all the intensity and drama of a playoff game despite both teams being short key contributors. The result was an entertaining and frantic 114-113 Cavaliers victory.

The Celtics were missing Kevin Garnett and the Cavs were short Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao before the game even started. By game’s end Drew Gooden was also gone with a strained groin he suffered halfway through the 3^rd quarter and Ira Newble looked like he’d been hit with a Kelly Pavlik straight right hand.

The two teams, despite playing shorthanded, ran themselves ragged in the first half playing very little defense and missing very few open shots. The Celtics took a 66-64 lead into the half but the 10-minute rest period was nowhere near long enough to allow either team to maintain the torrid pace of the first half.

Both teams buckled down defensively in the second half but the Cavs had a little more hustle and size to throw at the Celtics down the stretch. Huge efforts from LeBron James (33 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (21 points,10 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Larry Hughes (18, 3 rebounds, 6 assists) carried the Cavs to a big win. Not to be lost in the fun was a huge lift provided by Newble who scored 15 points, 9 in the first quarter. Newble’s scoring night ended with a beautiful baseline drive and crushing dunk with a minute and a half left in the game when the Cavs were desperately in need of a bucket to keep the Celtics at bay.

A sell-out crowd got their money’s worth watching James go against Paul Pierce and the rest of the Boston roster. So let’s take a look at…

What We Liked

• Lets just get it out of the way now. You have to love watching James when he’s amped up and motivated to play. He’s terrific every night, but when he dips into the reserves for a bit extra against Pierce or anyone else, he’s simply amazing. One rebound shy of his fifth triple-double of the season and saddled with five fouls at the 4-minute mark, James still controlled the tempo and the offense for the Cavs. On the defensive end he added five steals and two blocked shots in another complete, MVP-type effort.

• Ilgauskas continues to feed off of LBJ’s emotion and play. ‘Z’ was active all night long in the paint. He recognized he had a size advantage with Garnett out of the lineup and he continually went to the basket for feeds from LeBron or to keep possessions alive with offensive boards and tips.

• Hughes looked like a player that has some value Tuesday night against Boston. Granted, this was a game played at the pace Hughes likes and can take advantage of. He was the beneficiary many times of Boston tilting their defense to load up on James. And when LBJ found him, Hughes did not hesitate to take the ball to the rim. He also played his normal, tough-minded defense all night, creating numerous turnovers.

• Newble gave the Cavs a second option in the early going with his nine first quarter points. When he’s on (which is not often enough) Newble can knock down a few mid-range jumpers and he’s fearless going to the basket. Not always effective or efficient, but fearless. Newble left the game near the end of the 1^st quarter to have four stitches under his right eye after he took an errant elbow from Ilgauskas under the basket. He returned to score six more points, including the athletic baseline drive and dunk late in the 4^th quarter with the Celtics within two points.

• Daniel Gibson scored 11 points and hit his usual, key 3-point shots, but Gibson really came up big on the defensive end late in the game. He had a key strip of Ray Allen late in the 4^th quarter and has shown an ability to make a big takeaway in the last year or so. Gibson still looks like he gets lost in space sometimes on the floor, but he has terrific hands and, like Newble, isn’t afraid of throwing himself into the fray.

What We Hated

• Watching Gooden limp off the floor. Gooden went the entire first half without scoring. Again. He came out in the 3^rd quarter and hit a nice 12-foot jumper and then followed that up with a big dunk off a missed shot. But he apparently over extended himself on the dunk and immediately waved to the Cavs bench. Gooden limped directly into the locker room from the court and did not return.

Depending on how long it takes for Gooden’s strained groin to heal, the Cavs are in serious trouble as far as depth and their rotation is concerned. This is a team that tries to get 30 points and 15 rebounds out of Gooden, Varejao and Pavlovic every night and it’s never easy when they’re healthy. It’s impossible if they’re not on the floor. Asking James to give even more may be more reasonable than expecting Dwayne Jones and Donyell Marshall to step up and provide those numbers. But Mike Brown has to be cognizant that his star has only has so much in his tank and you don’t want to completely drain that tank as you approach playoff time.

• Celtics PG Rajon Rondo took 13 shots Tuesday night against the Cavs. Only four of those field goal attempts came from 15 feet away or further. The Cavs repeatedly let a 6’1”, 170lb PG to get to the rim without fear of reprisal.

There is no way to justify allowing a guard of that size to regularly attack the basket without seeing him sprawled all over the floor on a couple trips down the lane. Rondo either scored, got fouled or dished to off a teammate repeatedly in the first half and the early stage of the second half. At some point one Cavalier or another has got to take control of the lane and dish out some punishment to the little guys who dare venture down there. No one is advocating cheap shots or dirty play, but you can’t allow little guys that many free runs at your rim.

Finally

The Cavs head to Houston for a Thursday match-up with the Rockets. It’s an 8 PM (EST) tip against Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. The Rockets are 28-20 and are playing well. They’ve won four in a row and 8 of their last 10.