Written by Brian McPeek

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On Friday night in the Wachovia Center the Cavaliers had a carrot dangling in front of them that they weren't about to let slip by without taking a huge bite. And with home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference within their grasp they simply went out onto the court and outplayed the Philadelphia 76ers for just about the entire 48 minutes in a 102-92 win. Eastern Conference champs baby! Peeks recaps the win.

A warm welcome please for the 2008-2009 NBA Eastern Conference champions: your Cleveland Cavaliers. That's rare air people. Rare as in ‘Never Before'. 

Wonder how that tastes in Boston? 

On Friday night in the Wachovia Center the Cavaliers had a carrot dangling in front of them that they weren't about to let slip by without taking a huge bite. And with home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference within their grasp they simply went out onto the court and outplayed the Philadelphia 76ers for just about the entire 48 minutes in a 102-92 win. 

Friday night was a case of a playoff-bound 76ers team being outclassed on their home floor in pretty much every facet of the game by a team steamrolling through the regular season.  

And Philadelphia didn't play poorly. They shot a respectable 46% from the field, got to the line far more often than the Cavs did and committed only seven turnovers on the night. And still they were never really a threat after the half. 

That the Cavs were able to notch another double digit win on the road should come as no surprise; they're playing at a .650 clip on the road. Again, and with emphasis, there are only 4 teams in the NBA with an overall winning percentage higher than the Cavs .650 percentage on the road. 

Per usual, LeBron James led the Cavs in scoring with 27 points and in assists with 10. Mo Williams added 18 points and Delonte West chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds but the biggest assist for James and the Cavs on Friday came from the bench. Wally Szczerbiak scored 18 points, Joe Smith added eight of his own and Ben Wallace changed numerous shots and hauled in five rebounds. 

On a historic night on which the franchise earned their first ever Eastern Conference title nearly everyone on the roster contributed. Somehow with this team that's fitting. 

Takeaways 

• If you want just one stat that sums up the difference in Friday night's ballgame you need look no further than the three point shooting numbers. On the night the Cavs shot better than 50% from the arc (12-23) while the 76ers shot just 22% (2-9). That's a 30 point difference from deep and it takes a huge disparity in the paint to overcome a 30 point deficit from three point range.

Wally Szczerbiak was a perfect 4-4 from deep and Delonte West knocked down three more long balls. Even Zydrunas Ilgauskas joined the party with a game clinching three with about a minute to play that put the ballgame away. 

• Nice for the Cavs to get a win in Philly and push their lead for the top seed throughout the NBA playoffs to 1.5 games on a night where the Lakers have to visit their own personal hell hole; The Rose Garden in Portland. If history repeats itself and the Lakers struggle and lose that game they will be facing a 2 game deficit in the top seed race with just three games remaining.
  
  
• Let's not pull out the party hats and balloons just yet. The Cavaliers themselves sure aren't. Immediately after the game, in an interview with FSN's Austin Carr, LBJ himself noted the need to maintain focus and continue building toward the "Second Season". James and the Cavs have done a tremendous job all season maintaining that focus and getting the job done, with a few exceptions that you're going to get in any 82 game season.

Not to mention that if things don't break the Cavaliers way Friday night in Portland that Cleveland may need to run the table in order to maintain that precarious lead. 

• This is not going to be a popular opinion here in Cleveland but my ‘Pound for Pound Most Ferocious Dunker' award winner in the NBA has got to be Andre Iguodala from Philadelphia. The 25-year old out of Arizona is listed at 6'6", 207lbs. He throws down like a man far bigger. There were four separate dunks from Iguodala Friday night that threatened to rip down rims and backboards. And the kid can do a little bit more than just dunk too. He scored 26 points Friday night on a variety of shots, including a three pointer and 9 free throws. If the young man ever develops a right hand he might elevate himself to the rank of NBA elite.

They Got Next 

Three games in five days to close things out for the Wine & Gold. None of them are ‘gimmes' either.  

Boston comes to ‘The Q' on Sunday for a 3:30pm tip on ABC. The Celtics will be without the services of Kevin Garnett who will again rest a tender knee but no Cavs fan needs to be reminded of the Boston Beat-down that the Celtics administered to the Cavs the last time the two teams faced off without Garnett on the floor. The Celtics are still battling the Orlando Magic for the 2^nd seed in the east and they'd like nothing more than to solidify their position and at the same time end the Celtics ‘Curse of the Q'. 

Right after the game with the Celtics ends the Cavs will head to Indiana for a Monday nighter with the Pacers (7pm jump on FSN). The Pacers, for whatever reason, usually play the Cavs hard and tight.  

The regular season finale is next Wednesday at the ‘The Q'. That's an 8pm start (FSN) and the Cavs host the 76ers on Fan Appreciation Night. 

Things get started in earnest after that one.