More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

about 8 hours ago: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, right, drives to the basket past Sacramento Kings defender Tyreke Evans, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009.(AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

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These games are fun to watch - for the fans at least.  After playing their best game of the season, a complete-game effort in beating the Suns on Monday Night, the Cavaliers decided that defense was optional for 3 quarters before locking down the Sacramento Kings 117-104 in OT.

After giving up 32 points in the 3rd quarter(85 in the first 3 combined), the Cavaliers decided that enough was enough - playing the lock-down defense that is the true reason for their success - and held the Kings to just 19 points in the final 17 minutes.

Perhaps the most impressive stat, besides the triple-double put up by LeBron James, was the defense James played on wonder-rookie Tyreke Evans.  Evans was simply awesome in scoring 26 points through the first 3 and 1/2 quarters.  Then James took over - the result - Evans went 1-9 down the stretch, scoring just 2 points.

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	VS
13-14		21-8
December 23, 2009
ARCO Arena
10:00 PM et
Radio - WTAM 1100 / TV - FSOhio HD
Probable starters:
Tyreke Evans	PG	Mo Williams
Omri Casspi	SG	Anthony Parker
Andres Nocioni	SF	LeBron James
Jason Thompson	PF	J.J. Hickson
Spencer Hawes	C	Shaquille O'Neal

A bad loss followed by an impressive win - that has been the Cavaliers road trip to date.  Tonight, in prep for a Christmas Dinner showdown with the Lakers in LA, the Cavaliers spend the night in Sacramento facing my surprise team of 2009 so far, the 13-14 Kings, led by early Rookie of the Year front-runner Tyreke Evans.  The Kings are fresh off a 35-point comeback win over the Bulls in Chicago.  They are young, and playing with a lot of confidence.  Never easy playing in the home of Cow Bells.

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GAME NOTES -->

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More photos » by Matt York - AP

2 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) dunks over Phoenix Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire (1) and Channing Frye during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec. 21, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Shaquille O'Neal was the scape goat in Phoenix.  It was O'Neal that cramped the Suns style, O'Neal that kept Steve Nash from running and gunning, kept the Suns from making the playoffs in 2009.  All that could be true, and the Suns hot start seems to be proof positive.  Against O'Neal's new team, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Shaqtus scored just 3 points, but for the second time in 3 weeks, the Cavaliers pulled away from the Suns, winning big 109-91.  It was similar to the 107-90 win the Cavaliers enjoyed at The Q in early December.  It was the Cavaliers 2nd straight win in Phoenix - breaking the Suns' 19-game home winning streak.

I was pretty harsh on the Cavaliers last night after their lackluster effort in Dallas.  Tonight is the reason.  How can the Cavaliers look so bad, so disinterested one night only to come out on fire the next.  It starts with LeBron James.  James is the emotional leader, and when he brings it, the Cavs bring it.  After scoring just 2 points in the 4th quarter last night, LeBron was ready right from the start.

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	VS
18-9		20-8
December 21, 2009
US Airways Center
9:00 PM et
Radio - WTAM 1100 / TV - FSOhio HD
Probable starters:
Steve Nash	PG	Mo Williams
Jason Richardson	SG	Anthony Parker
Grant Hill	SF	LeBron James
Amare Stoudemire	PF	J.J. Hickson
Channing Frye	C	Shaquille O'Neal

The Cavaliers stagger into Phoenix one night after a flat, lackluster performance in Dallas led to a 102-95 loss.  As was the case with the Mavericks, the Suns are looking to avenge a double-digit loss to the Cavaliers at The Q.  In consecutive home games, the Cavaliers beat the Mavericks(111-95) and Suns(107-90).  Having already lost to the Mavs, the Cavaliers look to right the ship with 3 more games remaining in the West Coast trip.

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Cavaliers vs Suns coverage; Cavaliers vs Suns preview; Bright Side Of The Sun

GAME NOTES -->

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More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

3 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, second from left, goes up for a shot against Dallas Mavericks defenders Josh Howard (5), Drew Gooden (90) and Tim Thomas (7) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The NBA is a long season - filled with ups and downs.  It's hard for a team to bring the same level of energy and effort every night for 82 games.  For the Cavaliers that has been a struggle all season - at home and on the road - consistent effort.  It happened again as the Wine and Gold, seemingly in a game-long fog, fell to the Dallas Mavericks 102-95.  Perhaps even more perplexing was the Cavaliers inability to take advantage of a Dallas team missing their best player - Dirk Nowitzki - who missed the game with a gash on his elbow.

For the Cavs, it was a bit of the same.  In ending their 5-game losing streak, the Cavaliers were out-shot 48%-46%.  The Cavaliers did take 6 more free throws(26-20), but shot 77% while the Mavericks shot 95%.  Lastly, the Cavaliers wasted a great effort by their bench.  Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combined to score 41 points, a good night for the Cavaliers most nights, only to see the Mavericks bench score 45 points.  

Most disappointing was the complete lack of production from Shaquille O'Neal.  In over 17 minutes, O'Neal scored 5 points on 1-7 shooting.  LeBron James had an off-night shooting the ball, scoring 25 points on just 9-23.  He was held without a rebound in the 1st half and totaled just 3 rebounds in the game.

As for the rest of the starters, J.J. Hickson scored 4 points and Mo Williams added 8.  When 4 of your starting 5 scores just 29 points, you are not going to win many games, tonight is no exception.

No time to worry about it, as the Cavs get right back on the court tomorrow night in Phoenix.  With a Christmas trip to see Kobe and the Lakers on the horizon, the Wine and Gold needs to get its head right, and fast!

2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	VS
19-8		20-7
December 20, 2009
Quicken Loans Arena
7:30 PM et
Radio - WTAM 1100 / TV - FSOhio HD; ESPN
Probable starters:
Jason Kidd	PG	Mo Williams
Jose Barea	SG	Anthony Parker
Shawn Marion	SF	LeBron James
Tim Thomas	PF	J.J. Hickson
Erick Dampier	C	Shaquille O'Neal

No Dirk for Dallas so no problem for the Cavaliers?  Hard to say, but what is certain is the necessity for the Cavaliers to start this tough road trip on a positive note.  

Injury news - The Cavaliers are healthy

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More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

5 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) backs in against Milwaukee Bucks' Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, from Cameroon, in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN

(On tonight’s game): "Tonight, we won with our identity. There was a stretch for almost six minutes where we scored two points and defensively, we were good. I thought we did a terrific job of communicating on that end of the floor. We did a good job of helping one another on that end of the floor and our trust was extremely high and that was the separation in the ballgame. That’s what allowed us to hang on for the win."

(On the bench’s play): "I thought off the bench, Anderson and Delonte were terrific. Delonte played hardnosed defense and came up with 50-50 balls on defense. He brought a lot of toughness to this team tonight and then he attacked the rim great. You hope a guy like Anderson, who only had six points and seven rebounds, gets some mention for one of the All-Defensive Teams, and you hope he gets mentioned for Sixth Man of the Year because what he brings to the table for us is extremely invaluable. It’s off the charts. It can’t be measured in stats. You look at that last play; the smartest play he could have done was to chuck that ball to the other end of the floor to let the time run off and he did it. You have to have intelligence to think that quickly in that position with that amount of time left."

(On tonight’s defense): "When we have that type of focus, that type of energy, with the communication we had, our guys can be pretty good. Our guys really locked in for that third quarter coming out of the lockkeroom and got it done defensively. I’m happy about the effort on the defensive end, because we have enough guys who can put the ball in the hole."

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2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	VS
11-12		19-7
December 18, 2009
Quicken Loans Arena
8:00 PM et
Radio - WTAM 1100 / TV - FSOhio HD; ESPN
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Mo Williams
Carlos Delfino	SG	Anthony Parker
Luc Mbah a Moute	SF	LeBron James
Ersan Ilyasova	PF	J.J. Hickson
Andrew Bogut	C	Shaquille O'Neal

Have the Cavaliers finally figured it out?  LeBron James thinks so.  James said after the Cavaliers beat Philadelphia the other night that the Wine and Gold now knwo the identity of the team an who they want and need to be.  If he's right, that is scary news for the rest of the NBA - the Cavs managed to go 19-7 having no idea who they were.

Tonight is a visit from Milwaukee, surely looking for a bit of revenge.  A few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, the Bucks scored the first 11 points of the game before the Cavaliers went on a historic run - 30-2 at one point - and blew out the Bucks on their home floor.

Injury news - The Cavaliers are healthy

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Some more Game Notes after the Jump -- >

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More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

12 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' Shaquille O'Neal (33) shoots over Portland Trailblazers' Joel Przybilla (10) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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The NBA has named Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal as the recipient of the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for November in recognition of his outstanding efforts in the community and for his ongoing philanthropic and charitable work.

Shaq is being honored for his ongoing commitment to helping children and families in need across the country. Most recently, in an effort to bring holiday cheer to kids this season, he became the spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program. His yearly visits to Toys "R" Us stores on Christmas Eve to purchase toys for kids in need inspired the partnership. To tip off the season's toy drive, Shaq hosted his annual "Shaq-A-Claus" event at a Cleveland Toys "R" Us store, where he encouraged shoppers to join in his efforts.

"I'm really just a big kid myself, and I can't imagine a child going without a toy to unwrap during the holidays," Shaq said. "Toys are magical for kids. My life was transformed one Christmas morning when, as a boy, I received an autographed Dr. J basketball. With millions of children living in poverty in this country, I urge everyone to 'Join Shaq Give Back' this holiday season."

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