With the city of Cleveland’s pride on the line, and with last season’s heartbreaking Eastern Conference Championship loss still fresh in the mind of LeBron James and Cleveland fans, the Cavaliers got a redeeming 102-93 win over the Orlando Magic, last night.
Mo Williams, who previously struggled in the Conference Finals, found his shots this time around. He scored 22 points (9-9) in the first half of the game, and added 4 assists. Williams finished the game with 28 total points, 6 assists, and 1 rebound. Also, an aggressive LeBron James scored a season high 36 points, with 4 assists, and 8 rebounds.
In the much anticipated Showdown between the NBA’s two self-proclaimed “Supermen,” Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard–Howard (11 points, 7 rebounds) outscored and out rebounded O’Neal (10 points, 4 rebounds). And, at the Free Throw Line O’Neal went 2 of 4, and Howard was 5 of 12.
Getting his second start in place of Anderson Varejao, JJ Hickson had his best game of the season—scoring 9 points, with 6 rebounds. And although he traveled with the team, Delonte West didn’t sit on the bench with his teammates. He was declared inactive just before the start of the game, due to “internal matters.”
