Listless Cavs survive against Wizards to remain perfect at home

Cleveland looked listless and unfocused throughout their Christmas Day game against the lowly Washington Wizards, but in the end managed to regroup enough to pull out an uninspired 93-89 victory to pick up a game on the Eastern Conference leading Celtics and maintain their perfect 15-0 record at home.

The 4-24 Wizards kept it close for the entire game and appeared to be on the verge of an upset victory, due in large part to an impressive job containing the Cavs superstar LeBron James.  Heading into the fourth quarter, James had only 9 points though he added 9 more in the decisive period to finish with 18 for the game.  Mo Williams led the Cavs with 24 points, while Delonte West also added 18.  Washington’s Antawn Jamison led all scorers with 28 points, while Mike James chipped in 26. 

The Cavs were down 89-82 with 1:39 seconds to play in the game before going on an 11-0 run to close the game and pull out the victory.  Wizard’s pointguard Mike James wasn’t pleased with a disparity in fouls called during the decisive run, but diplomatically observed after the contest:

"It's tough because we had a chance to win.  We're up six and the calls didn't go our way, man. But that's the way it goes sometimes."

Cleveland, meanwhile, was happy with the victory however they managed to get it.  LeBron James noted that a loss “would have ruined my Christmas”.

Washington is off to their worst start in franchise history with a 4-23 record, and has lost eight straight games and 11 of 12.  They’ll have one of their best opportunities for a victory in some time on Saturday night as they host a team that’s struggling more than they are when 3-27 Oklahoma City comes to town.  They’ll then head back on the road to play Houston, New Orleans and Boston. 

The Cavs’s 2008-2009 season has so far been a diametric opposite of the Wizards, with the victory on Christmas Day running their record to 25-4.  They’ve won five straight and 16 of their last 17.  They’ll play the first half of a home and home series with Miami on Sunday before traveling to South Florida for a game on Tuesday.  They’ll start the 2009 portion of their campaign on 1/2/09 when they host the Chicago Bulls.