December 14, 2009
NBA- Cavs’ LeBron James Contributes 44 points to Beat the Thunder
By Ally White
Superstar LeBron James was spectacular this Sunday, contributing a whopping 44 points and leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder: 102-89. Everyone knows Kevin Durant is a great forward, but in his individual duel with LeBron James, he couldn’t stop the man. It was another great night for the Cleveland Cavalier forward who once again led his team to victory. 44 points was LeBron’s personal high this season and the third one with more than 40 points.
Oklahoma started out hot and scored first. With 4.34 left on the clock, the Thunder had a 6 point lead. However, LeBron and his gang quickly responded with some great shots and tied the score at 27-27 in the final seconds of the first quarter. Thunder regained the lead with Nick Collison’s two foul free throws. Bet Anderson Varejao won’t hear the last about that foul.
The second quarter started out back and forth, but finally Oklahoma regained the lead starting with Durant’s jump shot with 4:45 left in the period. James cut the lead for the Cavs with a three-pointer and a dunk shot to set the score 49-52. However with just 41 seconds left, Livingston made a jump shot for the Thunder and ended the first half 54-49.
Starting the fourth quarter, Oklahoma fought back and tied the score again 82-82, hoping to regain the lead. Nevertheless, Cleveland was determined to win and with some great three-pointers by Williams and his teammate Moon plus a complementary run of 20-7, the game ended in favor of Cleveland 102-89. The Thunder had a hard time losing that game after leading most of the game.
After the game, Thunder Coach Scott Brooks stated that the Cavalier’s three-pointers in addition to Cleveland failing to score at the end of the stretch made the difference in the game. "The 3-pointers just killed us. They made a lot of shots down the stretch and we didn't,” said Coach Brooks.
On the other hand, Cleveland coach Mike Brown expressed his satisfaction of the great defense his team did at the end, as well of the way his players handled the last quarter with awesome three-point shooting. "Our defense was tremendous late in the game. We wanted to try to defend without fouling and we did a good job of that late in the game. And then Mo's shot was terrific," said Coach Brown.
The Cavaliers top scorers were LeBron James with 44 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals; Mo Williams with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists; and finally Jamario Moon and JJ Hickson with 9 points and 4 rebounds each. For the Oklahoma Thunder the best scorers were Kevin Durant with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals; Jeff Green with 26 points and 4 rebounds; Russell Westbrook with 10 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds; and ultimately Serge Ibaka with 8 points and 4 rebounds.
About the Author
Ally White is a top senior copy writer on NBA games and sports action for the online sports betting site: http://www.instantactionsports.com
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