Jamison plays well in Cavs’ loss to Orlando
He scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half of a 101-95 defeat.
By BRIAN WINDHORST
THE Plain Dealer
ORLANDO, Fla. — Sunday was a half-empty, half-full sort of day for the Cavaliers.
Half empty: They lost their third consecutive game and it happened against the rival Orlando Magic, 101-95, in a playoff-style battle. They were outplayed down the stretch in a tight game, pretty much exactly the same way they got knocked out of the Eastern Conference finals by the Magic last year. It created their first three-game losing streak since March 2008.
Half full: The second half could prove to be an excellent building block for the Cavs (43-14), who finally started to show some rhythm with their lineup and their play. Antawn Jamison started the half and immediately things started falling in place for him and the team as he scored 15 of his 19 points.
“We’re going through a transition period right now,” said LeBron James, who had 33 points and nine rebounds in the loss. “Coach [Mike Brown] is trying to figure out lineups, we’re trying to figure out certain sets but ’Tawn is going to help us out a lot for the rest of the season.”
Empty: The Cavs allowed better than 50 percent shooting for the fourth time in six games and more than 100 points for the fourth consecutive game.
Full: In that second half, which may in fact turn out to be pivotal in this current difficult stretch of the season, the Cavs finally started to show some of their trademark defensive style that has been missing for at least two weeks.
Working hard to battle through screens, rotating and working together, the open shots dried up. The Magic (38-19) shot just 43 percent after the half and that included making their final seven shots, which is basically how they were able to win.
“Prior to the second half, I felt defensively we hadn’t been good,” Brown said. “You can say it some of it was because of the change, but even our last four games before the All-Star break, we weren’t as good defensively. But in the second half it was a pretty good effort.”
Empty: Dwight Howard had 22 points and 16 rebounds and pounded the Cavs big men and got them into foul trouble. Shaquille O’Neal had five, Jamison fouled out and Anderson Varejao was scored over several times. It showed how much the Cavs miss Zydrunas Ilgauskas in this particular matchup because when O’Neal is out of the game, Howard demands double teams.
Full: O’Neal once again had a strong game against the Magic and was able to play the battle into a relative draw as he has in all three meetings. He finished with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting and helped the Cavs hold Howard to 1-of-6 shooting in the second half.
“Two big strong guys, old bull and the young bull going at it, it was a fun game to watch,” O’Neal said.
“We’re fine, we’re one of the best teams in the league,” James said.