CAVS IMPROVE TO 38-1 AT HOME WITH ROUT OF WIZARDS

The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 38-1 at home this season with a 98-86 victory over the Washington Wizards at the Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night.  The 38-1 mark is the second best home record in NBA history, and Cleveland can tie the 1985-1986 Boston Celtics at 40-1 if they win their remaining two home games.  The victory was Cleveland’s fifteenth straight at home dating back to their only loss of the season on their own court which occurred Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cleveland led 26-13 after one quarter and was never really threatened, to the extent that LeBron James spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench cheerleading his teammates.  LeBron led the Cavs with 21 points, along with 7 assists and 6 rebounds.  Mo Williams added 14 points, while Delonte West chipped in for 13.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas made his presence felt with 7 points and 13 rebounds.  Washington was paced by 16 points from shooting guard Nick Young, while Andrew Blatche added 14 off the bench.  The only Wizard starters to score in double figures were Javaris Crittenton with 11 and Caron Butler with 10.

While the Cavs are in the midst of a franchise best season, the Wizards are essentially on a downward spiral to nowhere.  They’ve now lost ten of their last twelve games, and their 61 losses on the year are two shy of the all time franchise record.  That, and beating out Sacramento and the Los Angeles Clippers for the league’s worst record is really all they’ve got to play for as the regular season grinds to a close.

Despite the Cavs’ championship aspirations, LeBron James said that he takes special pride in the team’s stellar performance at Quicken Loans Arena:

"What we've been able to do at home is unbelievable. It's something that we'll be able to talk about long after we're done playing."

Washington’s Antawn Jamison, meanwhile, shared his increasing frustration with the Wizards’ woeful play:

"You play selfish basketball, try to pad the stats and not play to win games, you get blown out. The same stuff has been going on all year. It gets to the point where it's frustration. I don't know. It's not playing team basketball and not doing the things you need to do in order to win.

"It's disappointing. We continue to take steps back. There are no excuses. The Wizards, for some reason, when they do something good, they take four or five steps back."

The Wizards head to Toronto on Friday night for the first half of a ‘home and home’ series against the Raptors.  The teams will rematch on Monday night in Washington, after which the Wiz will head north to face the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.  Cleveland will visit Philadelphia on Friday before hosting the Boston Celtics on Sunday.  They’ll hit the road to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis on Monday.