CAVS RETURN HOME TO ROUT SPURS

Cleveland entered Sunday’s game with San Antonio having lost their previous two games and facing the possibility of suffering their first three game losing streak of the season.  The Spurs came to town with a solid 23-14 road mark, and with the Cavs out of sync there was some concern among Cleveland fans that another loss has a legitimate possibility. Or maybe not—it was business as usual on Sunday as the Cavs crushed the Spurs to improve their NBA best home record to 37-1.

LeBron James shouldered the bulk of the offense for Cleveland, finishing with a game high 38 points.  Delonte West and Mo Williams contributed 22 points each, while center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a solid outing with 9 points and 10 rebounds.  The Cavs’ defense also came to play, holding San Antonio to 39.2% shooting and limited the Spurs to only two double digit scorers.  Tony Parker led the team with 24 points, with reserve Drew Gooden adding 15.

After the game, Mo Williams suggested that the brief late season losing run might help his team in the long run:

"It was a wake-up call. We didn't get overexcited about the losses. It just kind of hit everybody the same way. That's why we're such a good team. We didn't talk about it. We just put it behind us. We knew what we had to do and everybody came out and responded real well."

LeBron James said the team felt it important to bounce back strongly after a humiliating 29 point loss at Orlando:

"Our last two games, we didn't show what we've shown all year. We didn't play Cavaliers basketball and got embarrassed. To come back home and play like we did is a good sign."

Cleveland can match the NBA best regular season home record of 40-1 if they can win their final three games—the mark is currently held by the 1985-86 Boston Celtics.  More importantly, the team is neck-and-neck with the Los Angeles Lakers for the best overall record in the NBA and home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Cavs will host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday before traveling to Philadelphia on Friday.  They’ll host their Eastern Conference nemesis, the Boston Celtics, on Sunday.  San Antonio is trying to maintain its grip on third place in the West with Portland and Houston breathing down their neck.  The Spurs will travel to Oklahoma City on Tuesday before two tough home games against Portland on Wednesday and Utah on Friday.