After leading for most of the game, the Cavaliers let victory slip away on Lopez basket with 1.4 seconds.
NEWARK, N.J. -- As the final buzzer sounded and his 3-point attempt hit the back of the rim and fell away, Daniel Gibson collapsed along the sideline and sat with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands for a couple of minutes.
Teammates approached to make sure he was all right, then stood back, not knowing what to say.
Monday night was the Cavaliers' best shot at a victory in weeks, and they let it slip through their hands, tying a team mark for futility.
The 103-101 loss to the New Jersey Nets was the Cavs' 17th straight, their 27th in 28 games overall and the 21st straight on the road, tying the team mark set from Jan. 13-April 14, 2003. The odds are high that they'll set a new mark Tuesday night in Boston.
This was the site of their last road win -- a 93-91 decision on Nov. 9 -- and they know what lies ahead: home game against Denver, road games at Orlando and Miami to close out the month. So for all the brave talk of trying to get better and taking one game at a time, the players knew exactly what was at stake and what might happen if they didn't take advantage of this opportunity.
"That shot carried a lot of weight," Gibson admitted as his team fell to a league-worst 8-36. "I thought it was good."
Asked what his thoughts were as he sat on the court at the end of the game, he forced a little smile and said, "If that shot goes, a lot of things are different. My teammates might have a smile on their face. The fans back home can put a smile on their faces."
It was their most complete game in weeks, even if it came against the 13-32 Nets. Coming on the heels of Saturday's loss at Chicago, where the Cavs cut a 20-point deficit to two before fading, it shows progress.
But, just as against the Bulls, the offense folded down the stretch, in spite of 26 points from Antawn Jamison and 19 from Gibson. They had been in control almost from the start, building a 12-point lead in the first half and leading by as many as nine in the third quarter.
In spite of a decided size disadvantage, they held their own in the paint and rebounded well. They didn't panic when the Nets packed the middle on defense and forced the ball inside on offense to build a five-point lead in fourth quarter.
After a 3-pointer by Gibson and a driving dunk by Ramon Sessions, the Cavs held a 98-97 lead with 1:08 left. But Kris Humphries got free for a dunk and Anthony Morrow hit a 13-foot bank shot with 13.2 seconds left for a 101-98 lead. Joey Graham, who was 4-of-18 beyond the arc coming in, nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the score with 7.1 seconds left.
With a foul to give, Ryan Hollins hacked at Brook Lopez, but the referees either didn't see it or chose to ignore it and Lopez, who led the Nets with 28 points and seven rebounds, hit a 6-footer in the lane for the game winner with 1.4 seconds left.
"I kept slapping him in the back and they didn't call a foul," Hollins said. "I guess lesson learned. You've got to wrap him up or maybe alert the officials beforehand. We lost in the playoffs [as a Dallas Maverick] like that. ... Definitely a tough loss and lesson learned. I guess they didn't notice I was trying to foul him."
Scott could only shake his head. "I'm still trying to figure out what he was doing," the coach said of Hollins.
But he was 100 percent behind Gibson's shot at the buzzer.
"I would love to have him take that shot nine times out of 10," Scott said. "I know he's going to make it more than 50 percent of the time. Tonight's one of those nights he didn't make it. It was right there at the back of the rim, right on line, it was just a little hard.
"I would love to have him in that situation many more nights because I know he's going to knock it down most of the time."
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2011/01/cleveland_cavaliers_cant_close.html
Arsenal Blackburn Rovers West Ham United Fifa Borrowing & debt Disability
No comments:
Post a Comment