# Game #48: Cavs @ Wolves (2/8/2006)



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

_*Game 48*_







*vs*









*Cleveland Cavaliers* *(28-19) @* *Minnesota Timberwolves** (22-15)*

_*Wednesday, February 8, 2006*_
*Time:* 5:00pm PT, 8:00pm ET
*TV:* FSOhio, *NBALP*
*Radio:* *WTAM 1100*
*Location:* *Target Center*, Minneapolis, Minnesota

*Head Coaches*









Mike Brown / Dwane Casey

*Probable Starters*















Eric Snow / Marco Jaric
















Aleksandar Pavlovic / Ricky Davis
















LeBron James / Trenton Hassell
















Drew Gooden / Kevin Garnett
















Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Eddie Griffin

*Cleveland Cavaliers Bench*











































Mike Wilks / Damon Jones / Martynas Andriuskevicius / Alan Henderson / Donyell Marshall / Anderson Varejao

*Minnesota Timberwolves Bench*











































Marcus Banks / Rashad McCants / Justin Reed / Ronald Dupree / Mark Madsen / Mark Blount

*Cleveland Cavaliers' Notes*

*** Try to win the battle on the glass. Limit second chance points, hustle for offensive rebounds and contest interior shots. 

*** Aggressively attack the basket to pick up fouls and go to the line. Once there, guys must knock their free throws down. No awful looking shots clanking off the iron. If LeBron struggles, he needs to remember to do his routine and not just walk up and shoot the ball.

*** Ride the James train as usual. The Wolves don’t want LeBron James to beat them, so it’s up to Gooden, Z and Sasha to score in double-digits. If LeBron can get some nice passes early on, it will open up his driving lanes, making him a deadlier scorer.

*Minnesota Timberwolves' Notes*

*** Exploit Garnett’s advantage over Drew and any other defender Cleveland throws his way. With the right assertiveness, Kevin can easily score over 30 and demand a double-team whenever deep. From there, KG can make use of his great passing skills.

*** Hope for a strong game by Jaric, a good game off the bench for Banks and McCants. The Wolves have the advantage at the PG position. They should seek to dominate this match up to give Cleveland trouble on pick-and-rolls, tempo and pressure. Win the small guard battle. 

*** Tempt Cleveland to hoist long ball after long ball. Cleveland lives and dies by the 3. If Cleveland is cold, pack the center with a zone.

*Overview*

Cleveland is a team of runs. The Cavs just broke their current losing streak with a win over the Bucks. If Cleveland is truly on the rise, their chances are good against the Timberwolves. It’s hard to get a feel for either team because both just ended their losing streaks and the Wolves haven’t played many games since their trade.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Wow. You kicked it up a notch for this one Remy.

Can't wait to see Pav take it to Ricky Davis.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I want this one bad. Felt the Twolves "stole" the game at Cleveland. Not that they didn't earn it but they hit some very tough shots.

Hopefully the bad taste from the near collapse against he BUcks will light the fires for a road win


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Yah, really nice new style remy


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*James guarded in play*












> _Some recent defensive plays by LeBron James point to a welcome trend in the Cavaliers forward’s game._
> 
> *James guarded in play*
> *Cavs star attempts to improve defense*
> ...


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Yahoo! | NBA | Cleveland Cavaliers/Minnesota Timberwolves Preview (click on picture)*


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

*Re: Yahoo! | NBA | Cleveland Cavaliers/Minnesota Timberwolves Preview (click on picture)*

Iam loving the strides that Lebron is making on the defensive side of the ball. I think he was hearing people talk about how he rested on defense and now he is stepping it up huge.


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

This is a game that I want to see the Cavs win. I just dont like Ricky Davis very much and I hope Sasha can go off on him. I think one of the keys to the game is how well Gooden and handle KG. If they have to put Z on him it could cause for foul trouble and Z is not quick enough to guard him. Road games seem to be tough for the Cavs but hopefully they bring the best tonite.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

I dont want to cry tonight. So GOOOO cavs


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Man I hate late starts. I wish all the games were just on at 7. I know that wouldnt work. I hope I dont stay up and wish I hadnt. Lets turn that last minute win into a winning streak. I think 4-5 games would be nice. :biggrin:


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Light games is tight games. Now i can watch lost


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Yeah but i just checked and it starts at 8. I think at first the thread said 9 but i see now that it says 8. So at least it aint really late like I had at first thought.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

darn.


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Well, its go time!!!!!!!


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Sick pass by z. to bad snow can never finish


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

c'mon guys. Dont fight for rebounds. THree cavs players and we dont get the rebound. and then davis scores. Thats soo dumb


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Wow, not looking too good at the moment


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Snow is going to have his hands full all night with Davis.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Snow is not tall enough to gaurd davis. We must put lebron on him


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Not only is Snow getting work defensive because of the size difference. The TWolves are leaving him open and he has missed 3 midrange jumpers. We need to start attacking the rim. This team is not a great jump shooting team and sometimes they think they are.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

this is just like the bucks game. Except for the fact that the twolves are doing good


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Im sensing that The wildthang is gonna block kg on the next time on the defensive end


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

I hope AV can guard him cause apparently no one else on our team can. They are just running on us and either getting good looks or fouls. If the team doesnt pick it up soon this could be a long one.


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## TyGuy (Apr 19, 2003)

We really need a point guard, we cant score in the half-court offense. only one guy on this team at the moment can break down defenses and we need him to be more of a finisher with bron.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Have the Cavs ever failed to get better when AV gets on the floor? His plus minus must be the best on the team.

That should never have happened there at the end.

Cavs kinda battling back after the slow start. Gonna be a struggle again tonight. We always have problems against Minnesota.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Cleveland trails by 8 at the end of the first quarter (22-30).

The beginning of the quarter was simply terrible. But Cleveland picked up the defense a little bit as time wore on.


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Othere than not getting back at the end they finished the quarter strong just like they needed too. They put themselves in the good position. I think this one will come down to the end.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

TyGuy said:


> We really need a point guard, we cant score in the half-court offense. only one guy on this team at the moment can break down defenses and we need him to be more of a finisher with bron.


I disagree. I doubt we can get a point guard who will distribute the ball better than Lebron. Now that we have Pavlovic, we have more finishers on the floor than creators. So Lebron really doesn't need to be a finisher once the guys get going. But once Hughes gets back, he's another creator.

I think between Hughes and Bron we've got at least a good point guard's worth. We're not going to get a Steve Nash. And guys like Earl Watson aren't better than Bron or Hughes at running the team.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Considering the start, it's shocking Cleveland is only down 2 points.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

ONly down by 2. 

Scott williams seriously says fantastic way too much


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Anderson!!!!!!!!


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Varajao is my hero


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Anderson is the man. I love ya Drew, but Anderson is the man.


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## TyGuy (Apr 19, 2003)

LeBron is not a point guard, if we get a real point guard its not going to minimize his abilities I think it maximizes them. I think he is much more dangerous if we have someone that can break down the d and he is just around there cutting and maybe work some more post up opportunities.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Sasha in pain. Oh no.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

We're screwd if Sasha gets injured. Hope Stephen Graham has some game.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Hold up, i was watching american idol for a minute.

What happened to sasha, is he back?????????????


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

It looked to me that Sasha was coming back in. He was about to check in at the scores table and then there was the timeout.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I guess if Sasha gets hurt, you move Lebron to the two? Play Donyell at the 3 more? Probably end up starting Damon again? Or do you start Donyell at the 3 with Drew at the four? Lebron at the 2? You hate to screw with Yell and Damon in terms of their roles, because they haven't shown the ability to quickly adapt. And you don't want to lose Yell and Damon off the bench with Verejao.

Damn. I hope Sasha isn't hurt badly.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

SASHA IS BACK!!! :banana: :banana:


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

CHKNWANG321 said:


> Hold up, i was watching american idol for a minute.


Come on now! The funny part of American idol is over and you flipped to that over the Cavs.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

KingoftheCourt23 said:


> Come on now! The funny part of American idol is over and you flipped to that over the Cavs.


 tight. 

oh crap. 7-0 run


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Big run by T-wolves right now


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Gonna be one of those games where it's going to be tough to get over the hump.

Keep getting it down to a point and then letting them get a run.


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Madsen is all over Z when he gets it in the post. How can the officals not call that. The dude just shoves him with the forearm.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

God we just suck balls with Lebron out of the game


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Another great pass by Lebron which is negated by a foul


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Free throws are killing us. KILLING US. If we made free throws we'd be winning this game comfortably right now.

How do you miss two free throws in a row, when your name is not Shaq?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Did Snow miss both FT's?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

We are now 9 out of 18 from the FT line. Lousy!!!


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

You can tell the crowd wanted to see that slam. 

That was a nice dunk by Ricky though.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Nice pass by sasha. Andy to the line


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Yeah that Ricky dunk was ridiculous. I don't know how he caught it like that.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Cleveland trails by 5 at halftime (45-50).


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

FT FT FT Frree thhrroowws: if we make just HALF our misses we'd be tied in this game


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Im shure glad we came back from our rediculous start


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Pioneer10 said:


> FT FT FT Frree thhrroowws: if we make just HALF our misses we'd be tied in this game


 Im thinking we need to make some free throws. They are called FREE, so i recon they are easier then regular shots. 

I dont want this to be a re-run of the nuggets game, where we lost becuase we missed lots of FTs


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Good to see them battle back into the game after a horrible start. They need to keep attacking cause they are getting to the line but if the dont make the fts its pointless. I was real glad to see Sasha back in the game.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Nice drive by sasha. WOW, he made them both


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

I dont understand how we do good, then just stop our defense and our offensive rhythm


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Brain Farts. Seems like we have them every time we get the score close.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

This game is frustrating. Cleveland has stretches where they play completely embarassing basketball and yet they're still in the game.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

It's kind of amazing we're as close as we are. No contribution from Drew tonight. Lebron isn't shooting well. But Sasha, Marshall, and Damon are shooting well enough, and KG seems to have disapeared from the Wolves offense.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Hopefully we can pull it out. This is one of those games the home team usually wins, but we'll see.

LOST is good tho


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron is a Kobe'esque 4-18 from the field today


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Pioneer10 said:


> Lebron is a Kobe'esque 4-18 from the field today


 Yet, we are winning


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Tied Game


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Cavs bench has been awesome tonight. Andy, Damon, Yell. That's a fine trio to be bringing off the bench.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Cleveland leads by 5 and the end of the third quarter (76-71).


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> Tied Game


 Now with the lead


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

We must extend lead

Marshall plays soo good in the post. I dont know why he shoots soo many 3s


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Double Double for Dee Mar


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Man, we need to get that offensive rebound


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Come on Z grab the board off the FT


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

oh, give me a break. That should be our ball


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Wolves defense is getting up and causing the Cavs some problems. I'd feel better about this if Lebron had it going, but he doesn't. He could just as easily miss his next four as make them. We've got to ratchet up the D on our own end and try and force some turnovers.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Damon scoring double digits is huge for the team onthe road


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Need to make this lead spread out a bit


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Great job by Z: block and gets on the ground to grab the ball


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron 8-28 from the field: OUCH


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Great job fighting for the ball by Z. 

Great jump hook by LBJ. I didnt know he had that in his arsenal


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Make that 9-29


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

RING RING RING. 3pointer

up by 9.

This zone d we are playing is really doing good against the wolves. they arent getting any easy shots


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> Make that 9-29


 10-30 lol


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Pioneer10 said:


> Lebron 8-28 from the field: OUCH



Yeah, he's killing his field goal percentage. He's looking like he'll end up this year with about the same percentage as last year, but with more points. Which is cool, but I was kind of hoping for 50 percent shooting. But what can you do?


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

WOW, re-run of the bucks game


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Our execution down the stretch is leaving a lot to be desired.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

haha, when lebron called a timeout, Kevin took the ball threw it at the floor and it came back up and hit him in the face


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

futuristxen said:


> Yeah, he's killing his field goal percentage. He's looking like he'll end up this year with about the same percentage as last year, but with more points. Which is cool, but I was kind of hoping for 50 percent shooting. But what can you do?


On nights his shooting percentage isn't good, LeBron tends to do other things people don't notice. He averages around 3 turnovers each night, coupled with nearly 7 assists. Tonight LeBron has 0 turnovers with 8 assists. I couldn't care less if LeBron shoots 10% from the field as long as Cleveland can find a way to win.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

WTF, how could they call that on lebron


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Great drive by lebron. That was exactly like his late game drive against the bucks


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Another game winning shot for Bron?

It's eeiry how similiar this game is to the other nights.


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

Lebron to the bucket. nice drive. 92-88

Maybe Ricky should have taken a charge or at least helped out Hassell


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

lol, damon tried to hug LBJ,and lebron wanted know of it?

oh, no ricky hit the 3


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## spongyfungy (Oct 22, 2003)

WTH ricky.... that took only 2 secs.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

That was kind of deep.
Just make your free throws though.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Jesus just go away Minnesota: more FT's for the Cavs - ugghh


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

In the hands of big Z.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

Z is automatic


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

The Ice-blooded Lithuanian!

So bizarre that he's the best free throw shooter on the team.


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Nice of DJ and Marshall to show up this game.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

"YOU CAN BOOK THIS ONE TO THE CAVALIERS"

i love to hear and say that


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

KingoftheCourt23 said:


> Nice of DJ and Marshall to show up this game.


They should leave a trail of bread crumbs back to this game. So they can find it again.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Box Score*

*Cleveland 97, Minnesota 91*


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Good win. I would like to see them finish the games better and bury teams when they get late leads. I want to see them win a game by like 20 sometime soon.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

As the wise man once said, "Cavaliers are ten games over .500."


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Beacon Journal | 02/09/2006 | Cavs' character shines on road*












> *Cavs’ character shines on road*
> *James tough in clutch, scores 35 points. Zone defense keys late rally*
> 
> By Brian Windhorst
> ...


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

I really enjoyed to watch our Zone defense it really hides DJ pretty well, and we can play Marshall at the SF and not get burned. But against teams that can shoot, there could be no way we could sit in that zone. Hassell/McCants/Reed/Carter were off all night long.


But on a different note, wouldnt it be crazy seeing Marcus Banks in a Cavaliers Uniform, you see how quick he was with the ball in his hands, WOW!


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Cavaliers stay in it to win*












> *CAVALIERS 97, TIMBERWOLVES 91*
> *Cavaliers stay in it to win it*
> 
> Thursday, February 09, 2006
> ...


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## The OUTLAW (Jun 13, 2002)

futuristxen said:


> The Ice-blooded Lithuanian!
> 
> So bizarre that he's the best free throw shooter on the team.


He's 16th in free throw percentage. He'd be the best free throw shooter on a bunch of teams.


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## CHKNWANG321 (Sep 3, 2005)

THis was a big win. When do we play on national tv this wee?


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

^ On the 26th, when Cleveland plays Detroit on the road on ABC.


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Figures on the road verses the best team in the East is on ABC. I hope that the Cavs step up and show the whole country they are for real!!!


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