SB Nation’s Cavaliers blog, Fear The Sword, weighs in on a big win for Clevelend in what was an exciting playoff atmosphere:
Fear The Sword Opines On The Cavs’ Momentous 13th Straight Win
Well, that was fun. In the final game before the All-Star break, the Cavaliers and Magic played one half All-Star game, one half playoff game on the defensive end with the Cavaliers making all the shots and stops late, beating the Orlando Magic 115-106. The game was ties at 96 with 4 minutes or so to go when LeBron James, and the Cavaliers defense, turned up the intensity, propelling the Cavs to the final 19-10 run that put the game away.
The story of the game early on were the officials. It was unfortunate that both Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard were saddled for large parts of the game with fouls. A message to the NBA - these games are better with those guys in the game. If they want to slam on each other for 48 minutes, I say, let them!
With the Magic focused on keeping James out of the lane, as well as giving zero respect to J.J. Hickson, J.J. went to work, scoring 13-points in the first quarter. For J.J., it was a series of back-cuts and pick and rolls to the basket, mostly with noone defending him, that allowed easy lay-ups and dunks. Hickson finished the game with 20 points on 9-14 shooting. He played with a ton of energy and confidence. I just don't see a scenario right now where the Cavaliers trade him. Sure, he might be getting his points because teams are not respecting his game, but fine - I hope opposing teams disrespect J.J. to the tune of 20-points every night.
On the referees not allowing Howard and Shaq to play their game, that’s something that’s a fine line for the NBA to walk. On one hand, they need to enforce the rules evenly across the league (although that’s questionable) but there are times with the refs need to put the whistles away and let two great teams go after each other. Especially when Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal are involved.
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