Cavs win with coach ejected

By Tom Reed

Cleveland Plain Dealer

TORONTO

Cavaliers coach Byron Scott could have picked countless games in the past month from which to get himself ejected.

Scott certainly wasn’t looking to get run Friday night in Air Canada Centre as he watched his patchwork lineup supply one of its best efforts in weeks against the Toronto Raptors. In the final seconds of the first half, however, the coach was being escorted from the court after getting tagged by two quick technicals from referee Kane Fitzgerald.

What Scott missed was one of the more improbable and satisfying wins of the season. The Cavs ended a season-long, nine-game losing streak with an 84-80 victory.

Trailing by 13 points early in the fourth quarter and relying on a rotation of Development League guards, the Cavaliers rallied furiously for their first win since March 19 in New Jersey. They won with rookie guard Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and guard Anthony Parker (sternum) out of the lineup.

Forward Antawn Jamison scored 25 points — including 16 in the fourth quarter — to pace the Cavs. Reserve shooting guard Lester Hudson all but guaranteed himself another 10-day contract or better with a career-high 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting.

“The one thing we talked about was that the order of business was to get back to competing,” said Scott. “I thought we did that [Wednesday] in Milwaukee and obviously … we did tonight down 13 points in the fourth quarter.”

Scott was ejected for the first time this season less than a minute before intermission.