Cleveland 97, Sacramento 93: (Cleveland gets rare road win)

On a night where two teams met with the worst record's of their respected conferences, Cleveland came out victorious, 97-93.

Ramon Sessions had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds to help the Cavaliers snap a four-game losing streak. Ramon Sessions was due for a break-out performance. After a stellar February averaging just over 19 points a game and over seven assists, Sessions has struggled in March.

Sessions has struggled ever since Cleveland traded for Baron Davis, who has been nothing short of spectacular for Cleveland. Davis was averaged 17.5 points a game before leaving the team because of his grandmother's death.

After Davis left the team the Cavaliers looked for Sessions to return to his old form, and that he did. He was aggressive, smart and looked like a seasoned-vet helping the Cavaliers get a rare road win.

Cleveland started the season winning 3 of 4 games on the road but didn't win another road game until March 4th against the Knicks. The Cavaliers lost 28 of their past 29 games on the road prior too tonight.

The Kings jumped out to an early lead, outscoring Cleveland 28-18 in the first quarter. However, Cleveland controlled the rest of the game, shooting 51 percent from the field.

JJ Hickson scored 17 points, and newly acquired Luke Harangody scored 15 points for Cleveland.

Kings guard, Marcus Thornton scored 23 points for the Kings who was coming off a career night, scoring 42 points against Golden State on Monday.

Thornton was the reason the Kings stayed in the game. He knocked down three key 3-pointers in the third rallying the Kings to grab a 74-73 lead headed into the 4th quarter.

It was a battle until the end and the undrafted rookie came through on the defensive-side again. Samardo Samuels, who again was in the right place at the right time. Samuels took a charge late in the game, giving the ball back to Cleveland with the game tied.

Samuels who in recent weeks has been the Cavaliers anchor on defense pulled through. His charge set-up Ramon Sessions go ahead lay-up giving the Cavaliers a 95-93 lead. Samardo scored 13 points for Cleveland but his defense late in the game was key.

With both teams looking to win the draft in June, the Cavaliers (13-53) still have the worst record in the NBA. However, it could get interesting down the stretch. The Kings (16-50) are not that far behind.

Let the games begin.

Cavaliers 81, Hornets 96: (Chris Paul is down)

The Cavaliers lost to the New Orleans Hornets 96-81 on a night where New Orleans lost its best player, Chris Paul.

Midway through the third quarter, New Orleans point guard Chris Paul collided with Ramon Sessions and laid on the floor for about 10 minutes. He was later carried out on a stretcher and did not return to the game.

The crowd stood and applauded Paul while leaving the building, Paul gave thumbs up as the crowd went crazy.

Cleveland was winning 61-60 when Chris Paul laid on the floor with an apparent head injury. Both teams surrounded one of the best point guards in the game while laying on the floor.

However, the game resumed without Paul and it looked like the Cavaliers would have an advantage without Paul on the other side of the ball.

The Hornets responded though, they went on a 24-8 run to take an 84-69 lead with just over 7 minutes in the game.

Baron Davis, who made his Cavalier debut at Quicken Loans Arena, hit a 40-footer at the end of the third to get the Cavaliers within seven. Davis scored 17 points and had 6 assists in 28 minutes of work coming off the bench.

Semih Erdan also made his Cavalier debut, playing 11 minutes and grabbing 5 rebounds and missing all three of his shots. Luke Harangody, who also came over from Boston scored four points in 16 minutes of action.

The Cavaliers were outscored 33-45 in the second half with Paul out of the game.

David West was a beast in the second half. He ended up with 23 points and had 7 rebounds. With Paul out, West proved to be the leader and helped push the Hornets to an 18 point lead.

Marco Belinello scored 18 and Jarret Jack filled in for Chris Paul with 14 points and 5 assists.

Cleveland stuck with the Hornets the entire game before Paul left the game. Cleveland was down only three at halftime and was tied with the Hornets before the All-Star point guard left the game.

JJ Hickson had another strong game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds and Samardo Samuels continued to play tough. He scored 11 points and 6 rebounds, but Samuels also looked like he has been working with Anderson Varejao. Samuels continued to play stunning defense, taking charge after charge.

The Cavaliers found themselves down as many as 18 points in the 4th quarter and could never recover. The Hornets took advantage of what it seemed like an overconfident Cleveland team.

Cleveland (12-49) hasn't won consecutive games since winning three games in a row back in November.

Baron Davis makes successful debut against the Knicks: Cavs 119, Knicks 115

NEW YORK - Looks like payback is going to have to wait.

Carmelo Anthony vowed revenge after the New York Knicks lost at Cleveland on Feb. 25.

Maybe next time.

Baron Davis made his Cavaliers debut a memorable one by scoring 18 points, including a key 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds left, as the Cavs shocked the Knicks for the third time this season, 119-115, on Friday night in Madison Square Garden.

Amar'e Stoudemire had 41 points and Anthony added 29, but it wasn't enough for the Knicks, now 31-29. In fact, the Cavs (12-49) have 25 percent of their victories against the Knicks.

"It always feels good to win in the Garden," said Davis, who scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs erased a 12-point deficit with 6:58 left. "As a kid, you dream of playing here on the big stage, the bright lights.

"They're one of the top teams in the league. Now that they're a powerhouse team, it's good for . . . these young guys to get that experience playing on that prime-time stage. This was a lot of rookies' first chance playing here. It was definitely a big confidence boost."

J.J. Hickson had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the Cavs, and two rookies came up huge -- Luke Harangody and Samardo Samuels. Harangody wasn't even supposed to play because of a painful right hip pointer, but he finished with 18 points, including two free throws with 1.2 seconds left.

Samuels had 15 points and six rebounds and drew two charges from Anthony in the final 1:32, including the game-saver as Anthony drove for what would have been a game-tying basket with 1.8 seconds left.
Anthony also got a technical after whacking Samuels early in the third quarter.

"We were talking the whole game," said Samuels, the 2008 USA Today high school player of the year at St. Benedict's prep in nearby Newark, N.J. "It's basketball. Guys get under each other's skin. My teammates were telling me, 'Don't take it too far.' I was like, 'I'm good.' I know my limits.

"At the end of the day, I'm a big dude. Ain't too much going to hurt me out there. I was just confident and having fun."

Asked if he thought he was getting under Anthony's skin, Samuels smiled and said: "A little bit. He was like, 'Who is this guy? He's out here pestering us.' "

Anthony admitted after the game that, in fact, he did not know who Samuels was.

"I don't even know his name," Anthony said when asked about the technical. "Samar, Sam, I don't even know his name, the guy who took the charge. I just pushed him. He flopped a little bit. It is what it is. No hard feelings."

After Davis hit his 3-pointer, Stoudemire hit one with 7.5 seconds left to get New York back to 116-115.

Ramon Sessions made one of two free throws with seven seconds left before Anthony charged into Samuels.
"I guess it was an offensive foul," Anthony said after the game. "I didn't want to settle for a jump shot."

The Cavs didn't want to settle for just coming close. But after beating the Knicks twice at home, beating them in Madison Square Garden was something else all together.

"I don't think the guys let the bright lights get to them tonight, which is big," Cavs coach Byron Scott said.

"We were down 12 points with [seven] minutes left in the game and we never quit. Guys kept fighting. It says a lot about our character. We were down, we weren't playing our best, we were playing against a team that's been playing pretty well and we just kept fighting till we got the victory."

- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer

Cleveland 99, San Antonio 109: (Spurs Sweep)

The San Antonio Spurs swept the Cavaliers for the first time in almost five years tonight, beating the Cavaliers 109-99.

San Antonio played their second game without a key member of their squad. Tony Parker is nursing a left calf strain and listed out for 2-4 weeks.

George Hill, who started in place of Parker against the Grizzlies scored only six points in their defeat against the Grizzlies.

Hill however turned things around against the Cavaliers scoring 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Manu and Duncan along with Hill combined for 51 points and gave the Cavaliers trouble all night long.

The Spurs avoided losing consecutive games for just the second time this season. The only time they lost back-to-back games was back in January when they lost to New York and Boston.

The Cavaliers are just trying to get through this season. They have been riddled with injuries all season long and with Jamison breaking his pinky finger against the 76ers the Cavaliers were forced to play their "young guns".

The term "young guns" has been thrown around as of late. Their young roster includes Manny Harris, Samardo Samuels,Christian Eyenga and newly acquired Semih Erdan and Luke Harangody.

Samardo Samuels started tonight in place for the injured Jamison. It was Samuels first start of his young career. Samardo scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. A stellar performance for the undrafted rookie. However, he was not the only player that was in an unfamiliar role.

Alonzo Gee who the Cavaliers picked up midway through the season as seen inconsistent minutes. Gee was called to start in place of Eyenga and surprisingly played well.

Gee showed his full arsenal, shooting outside, mid-range and consistently driving to the bucket. Alonzo scored 18 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.

Cleveland made multiple trades before the deadline and Cleveland fans finally got a look at one of the new pieces.

The former Notre Dame star, Luke Harangody made his Cavalier debut. He played in only four minutes but he did score and ended with two points. Luke Harangody reportedly got injured of all things and that being the reason of him playing only four minutes.

Baron Davis is set to make his Cavalier debut Friday or no later than Sunday.

Semih Erdan, who came over from Boston alongside Harangody will be out for a few more weeks recovering from an injury as well.

It was nice to see a new face play for the Cavaliers, even though it was only four minutes Harangody put on a show. He matched up with Matt Bonner and the two of them answered each others shot. A mini shoot out if you want to call it.

The Cavaliers rookies tonight combined for 42 points. Manny Harris scored eight points in 27 minutes of action. Christina Eyenga scored 11 points in 16 minutes of action and Samardo scored 23 in 34 minutes of action.

The Cavaliers got off to a sluggish start in the second half, scoring only 11 points in the first eight minutes in the third. Allowing the Spurs to pull away.

Cleveland had an uphill climb the rest of the way. Samardo and the Cavaliers continues to push getting the game within 10 with two minutes left, however the young guns could not pull through.

The Cavaliers are one of the youngest teams in the league. The team's average age is at 26 and Cleveland's "young guns" will only get better.

Key Notes: Dan Gilbert joined AC and Fred for some commentary during the game. One thing that caught my eye was when Dan Gilbert said they were very close to getting a third 2011 unprotected lottery pick. I'm guessing the deal was with Detroit with Rip Hamilton and the trade exception. As we all know, Rip Hamilton declined the trade and was dead after that. However, Gilbert said the talks could start again after the season.

Preview: Cavs vs. Spurs

The Cavaliers and the San Antionio Spurs will pla each other tonight in Cleveland in which each team will look to win without a key player to their rosters.

San Antiono's Tony Parker strained his left calf in Sunday's win against the Memphis Grizzles, is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.

On the other side, Cleveland's leading scorer at 18.0 points a game will most likely miss the rest of the season. Antawn Jamison broke is left pinky finger in the lose against the 76ers.

San Antonio will look to avoid losing consecutive games for just the second time this season. The last time they lost consecutive games was back in January when they lost to Boston and New York.

The Spurs immediately felt the impact of missing Tony Parker in their starting lineup. They had 21 turnovers against the Grizzles and the defense was awful, something the Cavaliers should take notice.

For the Cavaleirs, their road without their starting forward Antawn Jamison starts tonight. The injury will allow younger guys to log more minutes including Samardo Samuels.

Samuels was named the starting center yesterday, allowing JJ Hickson to move over to power forward.

Coach Scott wants JJ Hickson to continue his recent succes at his natural positon and that being the power foward spot. Jamison's injury will also allow younger players to step-up. Newly aquired, Luke Harangody will be the only player available to play tonight of the three that were traded to Cleveland.

Baron Davis is still nursing a Knee injury and Semih Erdan will be out for another week will his own injury. However, Luke Harangody will look to improve his game and show his potential with more of an opportunity to play with Cleveland.

Tip-off is at 7:00pm at Quicken Loans Arena.

Jamison's Season Over

In what has been a painful season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their season just got more painful. Jamison fractured his left little finger during Sunday's game at the Q against Philadelphia.

Antawn was examined on Monday at the Cleveland Clinic and x-rays show that surgery will be required to repair the fractured finger. The surgery will be scheduled tomorrow at the Marymount Surgery Center.

The injury is a huge blow to the NBA worst. The Cavaliers have been hit with injuries all season long. Anderson Varejao who arguably is the Cavaliers best player has been out for most of the season with a torn peroneus tendon in the right ankle. Boobie Gibson, and former Cavaliers Mo Williams and Leon Powe also battled injuries.

However, Jamison's injury is one of the biggest blows. Antwan Jamison was without question the Cavaliers leader and scoring leader at 18 points per game. Jamison also averaged 6.7 rebounds a game and was a true professional in the locker room.

With Jamison gone the Cavaliers will get even younger, putting more minutes on the rookies. Jamison's injury will give Samardo Samuels and Ryan Hollins more minutes. It also will open things up for newly acquired Luke Harangody and Semih Erdan.

Preview - Cavs. vs. 76ers

Today at 5 p.m the Cavs host the Philadelphia 76ers.

Everyone wants to know if the newest members of our franchise will be in uniform, but it's still unknown at this point.

Baron Davis, Luke Harangody, and Semih Erden all missed practice while taking physicals and getting settled in.

In the last meeting with the 76ers, the Cavaliers were blown out 117-97. 

Earlier in the season however, the Cavs won two contests against Philadelphia, in games where the entire team looked impressive.

Ramon Sessions and Antawn Jamison will look to continue their strong play as of late.

Speaking of Sessions, Coach Scott declared that it's not out of the question for both Sessions and the newly acquired Baron Davis to start in the backcourt together.  That would be a tough offensive tandem to deal with.

Whether or not Baron will see any playing time tonight is highly questionable, as he has yet to learn any of the plays or even attend a single practice with his new team.

Slowing down Andre Igoudala will be the first defensive priority. 

Also important will be containing Thaddeus young, who scored 26 points on 92% percent shooting in the last meeting vs. the Cavaliers.

Hickson must rebound effectively for us to win this game, and we need production out of all our players. 

We very well could be short-handed if Byron decides to have the new guys sit and watch this one.

In our last 4 games, the Cavs are 3-1.  Those 3 wins came against the Lakers, Knicks, and Clippers, all solid basketball teams right now. 

Will we finally be able to say the Cavaliers are on a winning streak?

Getting to know Semih Erdan and Luke Harangody

The trade that might be under the radar for the Cavaliers might be the trade with Boston. The Cavaliers received Semih Erdan and Luke Harangody for a 2013 second-rounder.

That is because the Cavaliers acquired a bigger name of Baron Davis from the Clippers and an unprotected first-round selection in the upcoming draft.

However, how much do you really know about these two players?

Semih Erdan is from Turkey and played professionally until he was selected 60th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

Erdan has been around the block. In 2004 he played in the Adriatic League in which he averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. The 7-footer also appeared in the YUBA league and in the Euro league.

In 2006, Erdan played in the Turkish league and averaged 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in just over 18 minutes a game. He also played in nine games in the Euro League and scored a high of 14 points in a game.

Semih entered the draft in 2008 while he was still under a one-year contract with the Fenerbahce Ulker. He did not return to Ulker as he was selected by the Boston Celtics.

Erdan may not have gaudy numbers, however, Erdan has a lot of potential and talent. He is a tough minded and hustle guy that will do all of your dirty work. Erdan has great footwork as well and will need some work on both ends of the floor.

With more minutes available with the Cavaliers, Erdan could finally live up to his 7-foot frame.

As for Luke Harangody, he is remembered as the star player that played at Notre Dame. I know Austin Carr loves that.

Harangody averaged 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game as a freshman in the Irish uniform. He was named to the Big East All-Rookie first team. In his second season, Harangody improved his game vastly. He averaged 20.4 points a game and 10.6 rebounds. He was named conference Player of the Year and 1st Team All Big East team.

With most players leaving for the NBA, Harangody decided to stay for his Junior season. However, Harangody got in trouble with the NCAA rulings and troubled with eligibility. Harangody entered the NBA Draft after his Junior year.

Luke was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second-round and scored a career high of 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors.

Luke will bring toughness and a an underrated offensive game. He can shoot from the outside or score from the inside. Luke will look to improve greatly with more minutes the Cavaliers can offer him.

Both players will look to join Baron Davis in Cleveland and possibly play against Philadelphia on Sunday.

Cleveland 115, New York 109: (Beating the "New" New York Knicks)

The Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks in Cleveland for the second time this season.

The short-handed Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks 115-109, one day after the trade deadline.

The New York Knicks lost in OT in December against these Cavaliers, but on Friday night the Knicks had a complete roster shake-up. Carmelo Anthony was in a Knick uniform and so was Chauncey Billups, who came over to New York in a blockbuster trade with Denver.

Anthony scored 27 points in his Knick debut which won against Central Division foe, Milwaukee Bucks. For an encore with Cleveland, Anthony and the Knicks did all but impress the nation with a disastrous night.

Carmelo ended with 27 points and eight rebounds but did miss a key free-throw late in the game that could have cut the lead within two. Anthony later said that he banged up his elbow and that was bothering him late in the game.

Amare Stoudemire lead the Knicks with 31 points and Chauncey Billups (the apparent throw-in) scored 20 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter.

Billups did all he could in trying to avoid the 10th straight loss in Cleveland, however, that streak did not end.

Cleveland played with a sense of passion tonight. Every player was very much into the game, and it was great to finally see some emotion out of these players.

The Cavaliers were once again alive, thanks to the trades GM Chris Grant pulled out of his hat. With Baron Davis, Semih Erdan and Luke Harangody coming to town you could feel that the players felt like this was a new start.

Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and JJ Hickson had a monster game, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

Newly acquired Baron Davis liked what he saw in JJ, "JJ is ballin super underrated, Look forward to working with him and see him become a BEAST!" he tweeted.

Ramon Sessions also continued his strong play, scoring 22 points and had four assists as well.

With the new players coming to town, the vibe of the city felt great and so did Baron Davis.

Via his twitter page, "Loving the energy I'm seeing," he wrote.

The Knicks, who were down as many as 12 points, got within two points with about 50 seconds remaining. Mr. Big Shot lived up to his nickname. His layup got the Knicks within striking distance.

But Boobie Gibson hit the biggest shot of the evening. His three-pointer couldn't have come at a more perfect time. With 30 seconds Boobie pulled up for three and went "deep in the Q" as the crowd went nuts.

The Cavaliers have won 2 of 3 and will look to continue this momentum they have on Sunday against Philly. The Cavaliers will look for that game to be the debut of Baron, Semih and Luke as the new look Cavaliers will try to start a winning streak.

Cavs release Leon Powe

The Cavaliers released Leon Powe on Friday. A day after the Cavaliers made multiple trades before the 3:00pm deadline.The Cavaliers roster was at 16 after the trades were finalized leaving the Cavaliers no choice to release the California project.

Cleveland acquired Baron Davis, Semih Erdan (Boston), Luke Harangody (Boston) and a 2011 first-round draft pick from the Clippers.

In 14 games this season, Powe was averaging 4.0 points a game and grabbing 2.7 rebounds in just over 13 minutes of action.Powe, who has fully recovered from a torn ACL injury that happen with the Boston Celtics back in 2008 will look to join another team.

ESPN and realgm.com has reported that Powe has cut his options down to Boston, Orlando and the Lakers.

Best wishes to Leon!

Preview: Cavaliers vs. Knicks

The last time New York came to Cleveland, they lost in overtime 109-102, which later became the only win for the Cavaliers in an 11-week stretch.

Antawn Jamison scored 21 points and nine rebounds that game, while Ramon Sessions scored 12 points and had four helpers as well.

However, that was in December and now it is February 25th, one day after the trade deadline.

Both the Knicks and Cavaliers were very busy prior to the deadline of 3:00pm. The New York Knicks are now without Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and a first-rounder.New York got Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups in return from Denver.

While Cleveland is now without Mo Williams and Jamario Moon and has Baran Davis from the Clippers and a projected top-ten draft pick in the 2011 draft.

The Cavaliers also traded their 2013 second-round pick to Boston for Luke Harangody and Semih Erdan later in the afternoon.

Both great moves for the respected teams in what direction the franchise's are moving. Cleveland is looking to rebuild with draft picks and New York is looking to win Championships sooner than later.

Carmelo and Chauncey made their New York debuts on Tuesday and did not disappoint, giving New York fans what they've been dreaming of since Carmelo stated he wanted to be a Knick before the season started.

Anthony scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds and Billups (who was called a throw in) scored 21 points and had 8 assists as well. They beat Milwaukee, 114-108 in their first game's as Knick's.

Anthony has averaged 36.5 points in his last two visits in Cleveland.

For the Cavaliers, the team will be most likely be short-handed tonight. Baron Davis, Luke Harangody and Semih Erdan are not expected to be ready for tonight's game against New York.

Cleveland's Ramon Sessions will look to continue his strong play in the month of February. Sessions is averaging 19.7ppg and 9.2 assists while starting.

For Jamison, in his last 25 games he has averaged 21.5 ppp and 7.7 rebounds at just over 37 points per game.

Cleveland has won nine overall against the Knicks and seven straight at the "Q".

Tip-off is at 7:30pm.

Harangody and Erden to Cavs as deadline closes

As the trade deadline closed, the madness began.

The Cavaliers were one of many teams trying to upgrade their roster before the 3:00pm deadline.

Earlier this morning, the Cavaliers traded Mo Williams and Jamario Moon for Baron Davis and a 2011 unprotected 1st-round pick from the Clippers.

A move that will most likely give the Cavaliers two top-10 picks in the upcoming draft.

The Cavaliers were one of the most active teams on Thursday. They were rumored to several other trades.

Trades that included Antawn Jamison going to Golden State for Troy Murphy's contract and were also reported to have talks with Detroit involving Rip Hamilton.

Cleveland was also rumored to have shopped Anthony Parker in multiple scenarios, sending him to Boston or Chicago for a second-rounder.

However, all of those trades never fell through.

The one trade the Cavaliers did make before the deadline past was a deal with Boston.

The deal did not include Anthony Parker but did involve a Minnesota second-rounder that Cleveland had rights to.

Ironically, we dealt a pick for Luke Harangody and Semih Erden instead of getting the pick from Boston.

Semih Erden is a former second-round pick in 2008 and has averaged 4.1 ppg and 2.9 rebounds in just over 14 minutes a game. Erdan is a 7-footer and will add depth to the Cavaliers roster.

Harangody, a former star at Notre Dame, is averaging 2.2 ppg and 2.0 rebounds a game while shooting 39 percent from the field in just over eight minutes a game.

All of this and the Cavaliers still have their 14.5 trade exception.

Cleveland is in great shape for the off-season, thanks to good work from Chris Grant and the front offices.