Cavs defeat Houston for 14th straight home victory

With most of the attention focused on the Celtics’ winning streak and hot start to the season, one has to wonder if there’s not some underlying frustration.  They’ve gotten off to the best start in NBA history and yet can’t get the Cleveland Cavaliers out of their rear view mirror.  Cleveland remained undefeated at the Quicken Loans Arena and improved their overall record to 24-4 by defeating Houston 99-90 on Tuesday night.

LeBron James scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half as Cleveland took control of what had been a closely contested affair throughout the first half.  LeBron’s 27 led all scorers, with Mo Williams adding 23 points for the Cavs.  Rafer Alston led Houston with 20 points, while Yao Ming scored 19.  The game was tied at the half, but a 26-19 third quarter advantage put Cleveland on top for good.

After the game, LeBron praised the toughness of the Rockets and noted the intensity of the game:

"That was a heavyweight fight. It felt like a playoff game. That's a great team. They're a proven team from the West and we're a proven team from the East and we bumped heads together."

Though relegated to an afterthought behind Boston’s franchise record 19th straight win, the Cavs became the first team to open a season with 14 straight home wins since Chicago and Orlando both did it in 1995-96. 

Rockets coach Rick Adelman, long known as one of the great “whiners” among NBA coaches, questioned some of the calls against his big man Yao Ming and the non-calls against Cleveland in the decisive third quarter:

"He got a couple where they said he hit people. All I know is they took him right out of the game. I know it probably happens, but it's pretty amazing a team can go the whole third quarter and never get a foul called. No hand check, no body, I mean 12 minutes? They are awfully good."

The Rockets Ron Artest focused instead on the tough battle between himself and LeBron:

"I was playing hard. If you're going to lose, you lose with dignity. You always play hard. "Every time we play against each other, it's fun. I'm in a different situation now and I'm not on him as much as I'd like to be. Guys like that push me."

Cleveland will host the Washington Wizards on Christmas night before taking on the Miami Heat in a “home and home” series.  They’ll play in Cleveland on Sunday with the return match in South Florida on Tuesday.  Houston is off until 12/26 when they’ll embark on a tough three games in four nights stretch, starting with a road game against the Hornets and continuing with home games against Utah and Washington on Saturday and Monday.