Written by J.D. Shultz

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If you're jaded with the Cleveland Cavaliers' season at this point, it's understandable.  With everything Cavaliers' fans have been through in the past 12 months, simply still identifying yourself as a Cavs fan says quite a bit.

But for those of you who are still around for the blow-by-blow (literally), the Cavs gave you a nice, unexpected surprise at the end of Monday night's game against the Orlando Magic:  Competitiveness.

And it was the upper tier level of comepetitiveness;  that being "creating opporunities and taking advantage of them," as opposed to merely "taking advantage of opportunities."

The Cavs have displayed this level of competitiveness this season, but it's been very rare, obviously.

However, at this point in the season, against a quality opponent like the Magic, competitiveness made it seem like a freakin' miracle was happening.

So what exactly constitutes as a "miracle" for Cavs fans these days?  Cutting a 26-point deficit to single-digits, even with no realistic hope of actually winning the game.  That's exactly what happened, and if you were watching the game . . . it was pretty awesome, wasn't it?

With just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Cavs were down 77-51.

Now, it's going to be nearly impossible to describe how increasingly - well - interesting, the game became shortly after that without sounding a little ridiculous . . . but I'll give it a shot by breaking it down for you, along with "diff" readings for your amusement:

2:06 3rd:  Ramon Sessions makes a six-footer. (77-53, diff 24)

1:24 3rd:  J.J. Hickson makes two free-throws. (77-55, diff 22)

0:58 3rd:  Ramon drives into the paint, dumps it off to Hickson, who makes the basket and is fouled.  He added the and-one. (77-58, diff 19)

0:40 3rd:  Gilbert Arenas, 3-pointer. (80-58, diff 22)

11:15 4th:  Daniel Gibson drives to the hoop for a lay-up. (80-60, diff 20)

10:52 4th:  Boobie makes a long two.  It was initally thought to be a three. (80-62, diff 18)

10:32 4th:  Christian Eyenga steals the ball;  Eyenga hits a long two.  (80-64, diff 16)

10:00 4th:  Boobie steals the ball;  Boobie hits a long two.  (80-66, diff 14)

9:30 4th:  Ryan Hollins draws an offensive foul;  Boobie hits a 3-pointer.  (80-69, diff 11)

9:00 4th:  Gilbert Arenas, 2-pointer. (82-69, diff 13)

8:06 4th:  Eyenga hits a floater from the elbow.  (82-71, diff 11)

7:48 4th:  Hollins steals the ball;  Boobie just misses a 3-pointer.

7:22 4th:  Quentin Richardson, 3-pointer. (85-71, diff 14)

That was a rough 6-point swing.  If Boobie's shot went down - and the man was hot - the Cavs could've been down just eight points, but with that miss and Richardson's make, it was 14.  It was fun while it lasted, right?

Well, the Cavs weren't ready to give in yet.  (And just for creating a scenario for me to write that line, the team should get an extra pat on the back.)

7:13 4th:  Manny Harris makes two of three free throws after being fouled on a shot beyond the arc.  (85-73, diff 12)

6:52 4th:  Dwight Howard makes a lay-up, plus an and-one.  (88-73, diff 15)

6:37 4th:  Eyenga drills a 3-pointer.  (88-76, diff 12)

[A one-plus-minute period where neither team could make anything.]

5:22 4th:  Richardson, two free throws.  (90-76, diff 14)

[A one-plus-minute period where neither team could make anything.]

4:18 4th:  Manny Harris blocks Richardson's shot; Boobie makes a sweet pass to Hollins, who dunks.  (90-78, diff 12)

3:53 4th:  Hedo Turkoglu, 2-pointer.  (92-78, diff 14)

3:41 4th:  Boobie makes another sweet pass to Hollins, who lays it in.  (92-80, diff 12)

3:13 4th:  Eyenga drills another 3-pointer.  (92-83, diff 9)

2:56 4th:  Hedo Turkoglu, 3-pointer.  (95-83, diff 12)

[A two-minute period where neither team could make anything.]

1:00 4th:  Boobie hits a 3-pointer.  (95-86, diff 9)

0:34 4th:  Brandon Bass, two free throws.  (97-86, diff 11)

And that's how the Cavs performed the relative-miracle of overcoming a 26-point deficit against Orlando, which is currently 4th in the Eastern Conference, to cut it to within nine points.  What's lost in this rundown is the defensive energy that the Cavs were employing to unsettle Orlando.

Of course, they also had some help from the Magic, who committed 20 turnovers.  (The Cavs had 15.) Some of those, particularly the ones in the fourth quarter, were forced errors.  The Cavs deserve more credit for the comeback than Orlando's collapse.  It wasn't sound defense in the fourth, but it was an active team effort.

Naturally, the Cavs dug their own grave, by spotting the Magic a 30-15 lead after one.  They played a little tighter in the second and third quarters, but weren't really able to gain any real traction until the 14-minute chunk detailed above.

For Cleveland, the stars were J.J. Hickson, Daniel GIbson, Christian Eyenga and (brace yourself) Ryan Hollins.  It was J.J.'s strong 3rd quarter that seemed to rally the team, and the home fans at the Q.

J.J. finished with 18 points (on 6-of-14 shooting) with six rebounds and three blocks.

Boobie had 16 points (on 7-of-11 shooting; 2-of-5 on 3s) with six assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block.  Eyenga had 12 points (on 5-of-9 shooting; 2-of-3 on 3s) with a steal.  Hollins had four points (on 2-of-4 shooting) with six rebounds (three offensive) and two steals.

It should be noted that the fourth quarter, in which the Cavs outscored the Magic by 11 points, was executed by five bench players:  Gibson, Eyenga, Hollins, Luke Harangody and Manny Harris.  Coach Byron Scott did not make a substitution all quarter.  (Gibson and Hollins were also a part of the final two minutes of the third quarter.)

Harangody, who only scored two points, finished with four rebounds and two assists.  Harris had five assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block.  He scored eight points.

Orlando had a very sloppy night . . . and didn't get much help from anyone beyond their starting frontcourt.  Dwight Howard had 28 points (on 9-of-11 shooting) with 18 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks.  (And four turnovers.)  Brandon Bass was pretty amazing, too.  He had 22 points (on 9-of-10 shooting) with six rebounds, two steals and a block.

So there you go, Cavs fans:  A competitive game against a top opponent - at least for the final 14 minutes - and the loss, which won't impact their chances to land the #1 pick in the lottery this June.

Again, no one will blame you if you've lost interest in the remainder of this season, but if you are hanging in there . . . let's hope for a few more of these active, exciting runs so that we can enjoy the rebuilding process.

Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden is onboard.  In a MAJOR way.  Gotta love it!