Cavaliers-Wizards Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 25 2012 7:30PM

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards entered Saturday on six-game losing streaks.

While the Cavaliers ended their skid with a surprising victory, the Wizards could be even more frustrated after coach Randy Wittman failed in his effort to get ejected from his club's latest loss.

The Eastern Conference's worst teams meet for the first time since the season opener Wednesday night in Washington.

Cleveland (6-23) will search for its first set of consecutive victories after winning 94-82 at Milwaukee on Saturday. Rookie Dion Waiters scored 18 points and backcourt mate Kyrie Irving added 15 as the Cavaliers never trailed and led by as many as 20.

"We came in with the mindset that we are going to compete for 48 minutes," Irving said. "Once we go out there and perform the way we do, it all speaks for itself."

Washington (3-22) fell 96-87 at home to Detroit on Saturday. Wittman said he intentionally got a technical foul midway through the first quarter with his team in the midst of missing 14 of its first 15 shots, and was hoping to receive a second.

"I've been trying to get thrown out for a while. These guys won't even throw me out," Wittman said.

Washington fell behind by 19 points at halftime Saturday after doing the same in a 100-68 road defeat to the lowly Pistons one night earlier.

"Our problem is getting off to slow starts and just digging us some holes," guard Jordan Crawford said. "We've been doing it consistently for a couple weeks now so gotta work on that."

The Wizards won't have to deal Cavaliers starting center Anderson Varejao, who will miss a fourth straight game with a bruised right knee. Varejao leads the league with 14.4 rebounds per game.

Varejao nearly had a triple-double the last time these teams met with nine points and career highs of 23 rebounds and nine assists in Cleveland's 94-84 home victory Oct. 30.

That contest also showcased the talents of the Cavs' young backcourt. Second-year guard Irving scored 29 points and Waiters added 17 in his first game as a pro.

Waiters missed eight games earlier this month because of a sprained left ankle, and Saturday's effort was his best in the four since he returned.

He would rank second among rookies in scoring with 14.7 points per game but has not played enough games to qualify. Washington's Bradley Beal - selected one pick before Waiters at No. 3 - holds that position instead with an average of 12.5 points.

Beal missed two games with an injured back before returning Saturday with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, although he said he struggled with his lateral movement.

"I know I couldn't do a lot of things I wanted to," Beal said. "A lot of times I gave up a lot of baskets and stuff I shouldn't have done on both ends of the floor. I battled the best I could."

Cleveland will see a different Washington forward tandem than it faced in the opener. Wizards forwards Trevor Ariza (strained calf) and Trevor Booker (knee) are both out.

Irving's 26 leads Cavaliers over Wizards 87-84

Posted Dec 26 2012 11:00PM

WASHINGTON (AP) It's already been a long season for the Cleveland Cavaliers and an even longer one for the Washington Wizards.

On Wednesday night, the Cavaliers, who improved to 7-23, outlasted the Wizards, 87-84.

Washington, which has lost eight straight, fell to a horrifying 3-23.

Cleveland has its first two-game winning streak of the season. Two of the Cavaliers' seven wins have come against the woeful Wizards.

"I should be a lot happier than I am, I guess," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "But some of the boneheaded mistakes that we made, some of the fouls, some of the things we did on the defensive end to allow them to have some of the shots that they had especially toward the end - we've just got to be a little bit smarter when the game's on the line like that."

The Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving had 26 points - 20 in the first half. He missed nine of his 10 field goals attempts in the second half, and four of six free throws in the fourth quarter.

"Oh, man, I started thinking too much," Irving said. "After I missed my first two, I moved back on the free throw line a little bit, tried some different things. It just wouldn't fall. It was frustrating. I'm glad it's behind me and we got this win."

Tristan Thompson's three-point play with 24.4 seconds remaining put Cleveland ahead. Irving made one of two free throws with 9.5 seconds left after Jordan Crawford and Garrett Temple missed jumpers for the Wizards. Crawford made two free throws with 8.5 seconds left to cut the lead to 86-84. Irving hit one of two, and Crawford missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.

"We were able to sneak one out tonight," said Thompson had a season-high 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Crawford and Emeka Okafor led the Wizards with 17 points. Nene had 16.

Washington took a 79-73 lead with 6:20 to play, but Cleveland scored nine straight points to take an 82-79 lead with 3:37 left.

The Wizards were held scoreless for 4 1-2 minutes until Okafor hit a hook shot with 1:50 to play to cut the Cavaliers' lead to 82-81. Irving missed two free throws with 1:01 to play, and Okafor hit one of two with 46.2 seconds to play for an 82-all tie.

Washington had four turnovers in the last 5 minutes.

"We turned the ball over at crucial times. We won't commit - all of us - won't commit to playing defense. We make too many critical mistakes because we're just not alert down the stretch." coach Randy Wittman said.

"We've got too many guys that worry just about shooting the basketball and not about the other parts of the game."

Okafor had 10 rebounds to help Washington outrebound Cleveland 51-38.

"For the most part, we played them pretty well defensively, it's just the turnovers," Okafor said. "We had 20 turnovers to their 10, so in a three-point loss, there you go."

The Wizards broke on top 22-10 with 4:51 to play in the first quarter, thanks to Nene's 10 points. Cleveland's Irving had 12 of his 20 first-half points in the second quarter to help the Cavaliers grab a 45-43 halftime lead.

Washington started Shelvin Mack at the point. It was Mack's first NBA start. The second-year guard had been cut by the Wizards at the end of training camp, and re-signed on Tuesday after a strong stint in the D-League.

Mack was starting because Crawford was late to Wednesday's shootaround according to a team source. Before the game, Wittman said that Crawford was benched for a violation of team rules. Crawford left the locker room before the media was allowed in.

Mack, who injured his groin and didn't play the last 4:11, had six points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Cavaliers won their season opener with Washington, and nearly two months later, beat them again. They play again March 12 in Cleveland.

"The NBA hasn't done us any favors as far as the schedule, period. You've got two teams that are struggling a little bit, obviously. Us and them. Right now we feel pretty good about the two wins. Now it's just trying to build on them," Scott said.

NOTES: Shaun Livingston, who was waived after Saturday's game by the Wizards, was on the Cavaliers' bench after his Tuesday signing. Scott said he would evaluate Livingston, who's playing with his seventh NBA team, after Thursday's practice. ... Cleveland C Anderson Varejao missed his fourth game with a bruised right knee. Scott said he would be evaluated on Thursday. ... Temple, who signed on Tuesday, had two points.

Notebook: Cavaliers 87, Wizards 84

Rich Dubroff, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:56 PM - Updated Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:56 PM

THE FACTS: Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, Tristan Thompson had a season-high 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 87-84 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Thompson's three-point play with 24.4 seconds gave Cleveland the lead. Jordan Crawford missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime. It was Cleveland's second straight win -- the first two game winning-streak of the season for the Cavaliers (7-23). The Wizards, losers of eight straight, drop to 3-23.

Crawford, who did not start because he was late to Wednesday's shootaround, and Emeka Okafor led Washington with 17 apiece. Nene had 16.

QUOTABLE: "I should be a lot happier than I am, I guess. But some of the bone-headed mistakes that we made -- some of the fouls, some of the things we did on the defensive end to allow them to have some of the shots that they had especially toward the end -- we've just got to be a little bit smarter when the game's on the line like that."

- -Cavaliers coach Byron Scott

THE STAT: The Wizards had 20 turnovers to the Cavaliers' 10. Washington committed four in the last five minutes.

TURNING POINT: The Wizards were held scoreless for a stretch of nearly 4 ½ minutes in the fourth quarter as Cleveland took a three-point lead. Though Washington briefly tied it, the cold streak ended the game

QUOTABLE II: "We've got too many guys that worry just about shooting the basketball and not about the other parts of the game."

-- Wizards coach Randy Wittman

HOT: Irving had 20 of his game-high 26 points in the first half -- 12 of them in the second quarter.

NOT: Irving wasn't hot all game, though. He was 1-for-10 from the field in the second half. He went 2-for-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. "It just wouldn't fall. It was frustrating. I'm glad it's behind me, ad we got this win," Irving said.

GOOD MOVE: Scott kept Irving on the floor for the Cavs despite his shooting woes. Irving tied his season high with six rebounds. He also had eight rebounds.

BAD MOVE: Crawford deciding to miss shootaround for the Wizards. He left the locker room before the media was allowed in.

NOTABLE: For the second straight game, the Wizards allowed an opponent to record its first two-game winning streak of the season.

INSIDE THE ARENA: For a game between two of the worst teams in the NBA with a combined record of 10-46, 13,846 showed up at the Verizon Center.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Friday vs. Hawks, Saturday @ Nets, Wednesday vs. Kings. For the Wizards, Friday vs. Magic, Saturday @Bulls, Tuesday vs. Mavericks .

• Cavaliers: Samuels, Varejao
• Wizards: Booker, Wall

• Cavaliers: --
• Wizards: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #50 Olandis Poole, #35 Kane Fitzgerald
• Attendance: 13846
• Duration: 2:07