Nets-Cavaliers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 26 2012 10:15PM

Behind his second-highest scoring output of the season, Deron Williams led the New Jersey Nets to an impressive victory their last time out.

While he's one of the top assist men in the game, Williams may want to think about looking for his shot more going forward.

Seeking back-to-back wins for the first time all season, Williams and the Nets conclude a three-game trip Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Two nights after falling 110-95 at Eastern Conference-best Chicago, New Jersey (6-13) bounced back with a 97-90 overtime victory at Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Williams, whose layup with 1.3 seconds to go in regulation sent the game into overtime, finished with 34 points and 11 assists, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with 26.8 seconds remaining.

"Our new team motto is, `I love it,'"Williams said. "It started off sarcastic, but now we use it for everything. I had five turnovers, but I love it."

Williams, who ranks seventh in the league with an average of 8.6 assists, leads the team with 18.9 points per game. The Nets, however, seem to have much to gain if their two-time All-Star point guard takes on a bigger scoring load. New Jersey is 4-0 when Williams scores at least 24 points and 2-12 when he has 23 or fewer.

After being held to 16 points during a 98-82 loss at Cleveland (7-10) on New Year's day, Williams might look to come out with more of a scorer's mentality in this one.

Lighting up the scoreboard, however, could prove difficult against a Cavaliers team coming off a stifling defensive effort. After holding its own in a 92-85 loss at Miami on Tuesday, Cleveland snapped a four-game skid the next night with a 91-81 victory over New York - limiting the Knicks to the lowest point total by an opponent in over a year.

"I feel a little bit better with the way we've played the last couple games, especially on the defensive end," coach Byron Scott said. "(Wednesday), I thought we reaped the benefits of getting back to the basics and playing good, solid, hard-nosed defense."

Averaging a team-high 16.8 points, rookie Kyrie Irving scored just seven but matched a season best with seven assists.

"I get my teammates involved and that's the most important thing," he said. "Hopefully, we can have more games like this and whether I score the ball or not, I'm still happy."

While Irving and Williams should present an interesting backcourt matchup, Cleveland's Anderson Varejao and New Jersey's Kris Humphries, who rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in the league with 11.2 and 10.8 rebounds per game, could make things competitive down low.

Humphries, who has taken on a bigger role with starting center Brook Lopez (broken right foot) sidelined, had 13 points and a season-best 19 boards versus the 76ers.

Varejao, meanwhile, had 10 points and 16 rebounds against the Knicks for his fifth double-double in seven contests.

"He's a stat sheet stuffer. That's the one thing about Andy. He's going to do a little bit of everything and (Wednesday) was no different," Scott said.

Antawn Jamison, who averaged 17.3 points over the first 10 games, has cooled down a bit, scoring 11.7 in his last seven.

Jamison, however, is averaging 24.5 points during his two most recent meetings in this series - including a 23-point effort on 10-of-15 shooting when the teams met earlier this month.

Williams leads Nets past Cavaliers, 99-96

Posted Jan 27 2012 11:33PM

CLEVELAND (AP) The New Jersey Nets came into town battling illness and injuries.

The Nets headed home with consecutive wins for the first time this season.

Deron Williams scored 27 points and New Jersey held off a late Cleveland rally for a 99-96 victory on Friday night.

New Jersey coach Avery Johnson wasn't sure who would be available until about an hour before game-time. Forward Kris Humphries missed Friday morning's shoot-around with the stomach flu, but was in the starting lineup and scored 18 points with 11 rebounds in 33 minutes. The Nets played without center Mehmet Okur (back injury) and guard MarShon Brooks (strained Achilles), but New Jersey led from wire-to-wire despite dressing only 10 players.

"We didn't know if Kris would be available, but he came out and battled through it," Williams said. "He's a warrior. It's definitely a good win without those guys and Kris being sick."

"Our guys played hard and they came out with a lot of focus," Johnson said. "We set the tone for this game in the first quarter. Kris is a hard-hat guy. He's earned a day off (Saturday). We got him hydrated the best we could, and he gave us all he had."

The Nets, who defeated Philadelphia in overtime on Wednesday, also completed their first winning road trip with a 2-1 record.

Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 32 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, for Cleveland. The Cavaliers have lost five of six and their latest defeat left coach Byron Scott in a cranky mood.

"I don't know if guys thought we've arrived or we can't stand prosperity," he said. "We lost the game, period. They played harder than we did for a longer period of time than we did. We got what we deserved. We waited until there was seven minutes left in the game to play harder."

New Jersey built a 16-point lead in the third quarter and was comfortably ahead throughout most of the fourth quarter until the Cavaliers rallied. Cleveland cut the deficit to eight points with 1:57 remaining. Irving hit a 3-pointer and a layup before Anderson Varejao's jumper with 16.5 seconds left cut the lead to 97-93, but Anthony Morrow hit two free throws a second later. Irving hit at 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap the best scoring performance of his brief career for the first overall pick in the draft.

"I would trade a performance like this for a win any day," said Irving, who scored 17 points in the final 3 minutes.

Williams is averaging 24 points and 10.3 assists in his last four games, in which the Nets are 3-1. He's recorded double-doubles in each game.

"My teammates have told me I have to score for us to be successful," he said. "I've been trying to do that early. I got some good looks."

Williams thinks there are better days ahead for the Nets, whose five road wins match their total for all of last season.

"We wanted a winning streak bad," he said. "Aside from that last couple of minutes of the game, we played really good basketball."

Scott thought Williams taught Irving a valuable lesson.

"When Deron sees a rookie point guard, he's gonna go at his throat," Scott said.

"We gave this game away," Irving said. "We were lacking a lot of energy tonight. We came out flat."

LeBron James holds the franchise for points with 24, which he did three times.

Humphires said following the game his stomach still hurt, but he didn't play like someone who was ill.

"I didn't feel 100 percent," Humphires said. "I came into the arena and found out Mehmet was out and knew I was playing for sure. I was going to give it a try regardless. There are no excuses. We play a game. It's the best job in the world."

Morrow added 22 points for New Jersey, which last won back-to-back games on March 11-14, 2011.

Antawn Jamison scored 20 points while Ramon Sessions added 11.

NOTES: Johnson said Okur will have an MRI on Saturday. Okur missed two games earlier in the season because of back spasms. ... Brooks missed his third straight game and Johnson said he will have a further medical examination Saturday. Brooks might play in Sunday's home game against Toronto. Brooks is the NBA's second-leading scorer among rookies, trailing only Irving. ... Cavaliers F Tristan Thompson, the fourth overall pick in the draft, played after missing the last two games with a sprained left ankle. He scored five points in 16 minutes. ... Cleveland plays at Boston on Sunday and hosts the Celtics on Tuesday.

Notebook: Nets 99, Cavaliers 96

By Brian Dulik, for NBA.com
Posted Friday January 27, 2012 11:56PM

THE FACTS: Point guard Deron Williams collected 27 points and a game-high 10 assists as the New Jersey Nets led from wire-to-wire in a 99-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shooting guard Anthony Morrow added 22 points, while power forward Kris Humphries had 18 points and 11 rebounds for New Jersey, which won consecutive games for the first time since March 11-14, 2011. Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with a career-best 32 points, but 21 of them came in the final 6:21 after the Nets built an 85-68 advantage.

QUOTABLE: "We wanted a winning streak bad -- and we got it tonight. It was a good team victory. Aside from that last couple of minutes of the game, we played really good basketball."
-- Nets point guard Deron Williams

THE STAT: Williams recorded his fourth straight double-double and is averaging 24.0 points, 10.3 assists and 5.25 turnovers during that streak, while leading New Jersey to a 3-1 record. "My teammates have told me I have to score for us to be successful," the two-time NBA All-Star said. "I've been trying to do that early, and I got some good looks tonight." Williams had 10 points and five assists in the first quarter, accounting for 21 of the Nets' 30 points as they jumped in front by 10.

TURNING POINT: After power forward Antawn Jamison scored on a finger-roll to cut the Cavaliers' deficit to 36-33 with 3:47 left in the second quarter, New Jersey answered with 11 straight points. Center Johan Petro capped the run with a dunk, giving the Nets a 47-33 cushion that they largely maintained the rest of the way. "We got what we deserved," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "They played harder than we did for a longer period of time than we did. We lost the game, period."

QUOTABLE II: "We gave this game away. We were lacking a lot of energy tonight. We came out flat. I would trade an individual performance like this for a win any day."
-- Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving

HOT: The Nets matched their road win total from the entire 2010-2011 season with five. They are 5-8 away from Prudential Center this winter. ... Humphries was a game-time decision with the stomach flu, but played 33 minutes and notched his eighth double-double of the season. "My stomach still really hurts, but I feel a lot better," he said, adding. "There are no excuses. We play a game. It's the best job in the world, just roll with it." ... Williams made five 3-pointers, one off his career high. ... Irving's 21 fourth-quarter points were three shy of the Cavaliers record for a period, set thrice by LeBron James. He scored 17 points in the final 178 seconds.

NOT: The Cavaliers have lost five of their last six games after starting the season 6-6. "I don't know if guys thought we've arrived or we can't stand prosperity," said Scott, whose team fell to 3-4 at Quicken Loans Arena. ... Cleveland shooting guard Daniel Gibson missed all five of his shots off the bench, dropping his season field goal percentage to .339. ... Cavaliers small forward Omri Casspi badly airballed a 3-pointer and dribbled the basketball off his lower leg, directly to a fan seated courtside. ... Nets center Shelden Williams played 21 minutes before taking a shot, which came when he missed an uncontested dunk.

QUOTABLE III: "When Deron sees a rookie point guard, he's gonna go at his throat. He is just going to come at you, and if you don't accept the challenge, he is going to tear you up."
-- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott

GOOD MOVE: Johnson kept Williams and fellow point guard Jordan Farmar on the court together for long stretches, keeping Cleveland's defense back on its heels. The aforementioned New Jersey duo combined for 38 points and 17 assists in 54 minutes. "(The Nets) are a way better team than when we played them before because they've got Jordan Farmar back," Irving said.

BAD MOVE: Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson returned after missing two games with a sprained left ankle, and was returned to his role as the team's sixth man by Scott. The rookie's timing was clearly off as he missed three of his first four shots, committed a defensive goaltending call, and was outplayed by New Jersey reserves Petro and Shawne Williams.

NOTABLE: New Jersey only dressed 10 players because it did not have the services of centers Brook Lopez (broken right foot) and Mehmet Okur (back spasms), guard MarShon Brooks (left Achilles), and forwards Damion James (sore right foot) and Jordan Williams (NBA D-League assignment). ... Top overall draft pick Irving grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan. ... The Nets' starting lineup was not called for a foul in the first half. ... New Jersey's last three-game winning streak came as part of a five-game run from March 4-14, 2011.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Sunday vs. Toronto, Tuesday @ Indiana, Wednesday vs. Detroit. For the Cavaliers, Sunday @ Boston, Tuesday vs. Boston, Friday @ Orlando.

• Nets: James, Lopez, Williams
• Cavaliers: Harangody, Thompson

• Nets: --
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #33 Zach Zarba, #34 Kevin Cutler
• Attendance: 13121
• Duration: 2:14