Nuggets 117, Cavs 103: (...........19 and counting)

Still winless in 2011, the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their 19th straight, 117 to 103, against the Denver Nuggets.

The Cavaliers have dropped 29 of their last 30 games and are in serious jeopardy of breaking the NBA record for longest losing streak, which is 23 from the expansion team of Vancouver (1995-1996) and the Nuggets (1996-1997).

JJ Hickson continued his strong play, scoring 24 points and 14 rebounds. JJ is averaging just over 13 rebounds in his last six games for the Cavaliers. Antawn Jamison again provided his strong leadership he has given all year long, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as well, and Ramon Sessions continues to shine scoring 14 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists.

The Cavaliers gave up 70 first half points against the league's best offensive team, who average 108 a game. Denver was led by Carmelo Anthony, scoring 33 points. Denver also got a great effort from Aaron Afflalo, scoring 23 points.

The game seemed out of reach in the second half when Denver pushed its lead to 20 points. However, Cleveland showed pride and battled back. Joey Graham gave a late push, knocking down jumper after jumper finishing with 14 points and 6 rebounds and Boobie contributed with 15 of his own.

Cleveland cut the lead to just six points midway through the 4th. However, Denver had an answer for everything the Cavaliers threw at them. Chauncey "Big Shot" Billups made a couple big shots as Denver pushed its lead back up to ten late in the 4th.

Cleveland heads to Florida for battles against Orlando and then the much hated Miami Heat. With the streak at 19, things can only go up from here.

Wouldn't it be nice to see the losing streak snap against the Heat?

Key Notes: Ironically Byron Scott was on that Vancouver team that lost 23 in a row. Byron knows what the team is going through right now and he is the man for the job, because he has been there.

Preview - Cavs vs. Nuggets: Eyenga Improving, J.J. Rebounding

It's time for the Cavaliers to win a game.

Tonight we're matched up against Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. 

The losing streak stands at 18 games. 

That being said, I think we can beat Denver tonight.  Although we did absorb a 127-99 blowout to Carmelo and company January 15th, the Cavs are starting to play better basketball.  Hear me out.

With the emergence of Christian Eyenga and the continued strong play of Antawn Jamison, this team has gained some confidence even during the losing streak.

Christian Eyenga is really starting to gain confidence in this offense; he improves his game almost every night.  The potential is there, he just needs to keep improving his jump shot.  His defense is great, and we like what we see out of him.

J.J. Hickson seems to be finding his groove as well, rebounding effectively and making his presence felt. 

The 103-101 loss to New Jersey was tough to swallow, but we controlled most of that game and had a legitimate chance at winning. 

Sure, the Nuggets are a different animal than the Nets, but any team can win on any given night.  Hey, the Cavs beat the Celtics this year did they not?  I'm convinced the Cavs are making progress.  Allowing our young talent to develop will pay off down the road.

The key to tonight's game will obviously be slowing down Carmelo Anthony, but also containing Chauncey Billups.  Nene also provides a tough matchup for any of the Cavs big men, as he scored 22 against us in our prior matchup.

As Antawn Jamison put it, other teams have a high level of confidence when they play us this season.  No one wants to be the team that gave the Cavs their first win in over a month.

Will the Cavaliers stand up and end the futility?  Will playing in front of the supportive fans of Cleveland be enough to get this team over the hump? 

I'm not saying it's likely, I'm just saying its possible.

Be sure to check out what Byron Scott had to say before the game: Video

Cavs fans are taking a beating this season

You can't make this stuff up.

Another loss, another injury: Mo Williams hurt as Cleveland Cavaliers lose 13th straight, 127-99 to Denver

DENVER, Colo. -- Byron Scott had a few words of advice before his team took the floor against the Nuggets on Saturday night at Pepsi Center.

"Don't think about the flight home yet," he said. "Don't think about the day off. We still have a game to play, and I still expect us to come out and compete. If we do that, then the trip back home will be a little bit more pleasurable no matter what the results are. I expect us to come out and play hard."

Good luck with that. The plane could have left at halftime. The Cavs tied a franchise record by giving up 80 points in the first half en route to a 127-99 defeat. They lost every game on this five-game trip and have now lost 13 straight, 23 of 24 and 19 straight on the road to fall to 8-32 overall.

"Too much Denver Nuggets and not enough Cavs," Scott said with a wry smile.

Does it even matter that Ramon Sessions led the Cavs with 21 points, Antawn Jamison added 17 or J.J. Hickson had 13 points and nine rebounds?

Or that Nene had 22 points and Chauncey Billups and Arron Afflalo each had 21 as the Nuggets improved to 23-16?

Didn't think so.

The Cavs, down to eight players after Ryan Hollins left to attend a family funeral, lost Mo Williams five minutes in with a strained left left hip flexor. Perhaps Scott's best option would have been to suit up himself.

"Mo went down and that just ate us up for the rest of the night," Scott said. "The young guys played hard. They really put out a great effort. I thought JJ put out a great effort as well. Playing last night against Utah and then coming in here back-to-back kind of got to him finally. I think the minutes he's been playing finally caught up to him.

"The effort was great. We just played a team with too much fire-power against us, as short-handed as we are right now."

 

Of course, the fact that the Cavs once again declined to play any defense contributed to that. Denver shot 58 percent overall and 62 percent from 3-point range (13-of-21) and had 24 fast-break points. But the Cavs did hold their own in the middle. They were outscored in the paint, 60-54, but only out-rebounded 49-47, and actually outscored the Nuggets on second-chance points, 17-15.

"We fought," Sessions said. "Ain't much more you can ask for with seven guys out there and some guys playing out of position. We're not here to complain or anything. We played hard, Denver was a better team tonight."

The Cavs never seem to respond until they're down by 10. So, naturally, they fell behind, 24-14, with about four minutes left in the first quarter. Then Jamison, who missed his first five shots, hit a pair of the leaning, off-balance baskets he has become known for to start the Cavs on a 7-0 run that brought them back within 24-21.

But more lax defense allowed Denver to close the quarter on a 10-1 run. In numbers that have become all too familiar, the Cavs shot 27 percent in the first quarter, the Nuggets shot 62 percent, 80 percent from 3-point range (4-of-5) and held an 18-10 edge on the boards.

But the Cavs keep topping themselves. Or is that bottoming? The 80 points in the first half was a season high, beating the 73 they gave up at Minnesota on Dec. 4. The Nuggets shot 71 percent from the field, including 85 percent from 3-point range (6-of-7) in the second quarter as the Cavs continue to treat the 3-point line as if it's radioactive.