Kamd50
04-28-2008, 08:02 AM
Cavaliers Insider: Second-quarter scuffle with Stevenson ignited LeBron
The feud between LeBron James and DeShawn Stevenson reached a flashpoint in the first half when Stevenson swung his right arm at a driving James and connected only with the top of head. James' headband flew off and Stevenson was given a flagrant 1 technical foul.
James and Stevenson briefly walked toward each other but they were quickly separated.
There has been tension ever since Stevenson's "overrated" comments and James' response comparing himself to rapper Jay-Z and Stevenson to the lightly regarded Soulja Boy.
But the gloves almost came off Sunday. It reminded James of the no-blood, no-foul summer days at Elizabeth Park in Akron.
James' headband goes flying after Stevenson makes contact. Stevenson was issued a flagrant 1 technical foul on the play."I saw DeShawn coming and I didn't even know he hit me with a closed fist until one of my teammates told me," James said. "If we were in the park where I grew up, something definitely would have escalated. I guess that's what they want to do, hurt LeBron James in this series. It's not working."
Instead, the play sparked the Cavs. Down by one with 3:25 left, the Cavs closed out the half with a 10-point lead.
"[After the foul] I just wanted to be more aggressive," said James, who split a pair of free throws before quickly following with a long 3-point jumper. "They continue to try to hurt me but I continue to get up. It definitely sparked me and sparked our team. We went on a good run, we played some good defense and we hit some 3s.
"We made big plays to close out the half."
Big boards: Mike Brown said the team which came out most aggressively would have the best chance at winning. The Cavs answered the call. Not only did they out-rebound the Wizards, 51-31, but had 18 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points.
"Both teams were equally aggressive and that's why down the stretch the game could have went either way," Brown said. "Our guys made enough plays at the right time at the end of the ball game."
Charity stripe: James tries to improve on different aspects of his game each summer. Last season it was his outside shot. This coming off-season he hopes to improve his free-throw shooting. James, a career 72.8 percent shooter, is shooting 59.2 percent in four playoff games.
"I'm not happy with it but it's continuing to get better; it's a work in progress," said James. "Late in the game, I've been able to make the ones that need to be made for us to move on. It's something I'll continue to work on and get better at."
Hopefully Lebron shuts Stevenson up for good this season on Wednesday:weightlift:
The feud between LeBron James and DeShawn Stevenson reached a flashpoint in the first half when Stevenson swung his right arm at a driving James and connected only with the top of head. James' headband flew off and Stevenson was given a flagrant 1 technical foul.
James and Stevenson briefly walked toward each other but they were quickly separated.
There has been tension ever since Stevenson's "overrated" comments and James' response comparing himself to rapper Jay-Z and Stevenson to the lightly regarded Soulja Boy.
But the gloves almost came off Sunday. It reminded James of the no-blood, no-foul summer days at Elizabeth Park in Akron.
James' headband goes flying after Stevenson makes contact. Stevenson was issued a flagrant 1 technical foul on the play."I saw DeShawn coming and I didn't even know he hit me with a closed fist until one of my teammates told me," James said. "If we were in the park where I grew up, something definitely would have escalated. I guess that's what they want to do, hurt LeBron James in this series. It's not working."
Instead, the play sparked the Cavs. Down by one with 3:25 left, the Cavs closed out the half with a 10-point lead.
"[After the foul] I just wanted to be more aggressive," said James, who split a pair of free throws before quickly following with a long 3-point jumper. "They continue to try to hurt me but I continue to get up. It definitely sparked me and sparked our team. We went on a good run, we played some good defense and we hit some 3s.
"We made big plays to close out the half."
Big boards: Mike Brown said the team which came out most aggressively would have the best chance at winning. The Cavs answered the call. Not only did they out-rebound the Wizards, 51-31, but had 18 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points.
"Both teams were equally aggressive and that's why down the stretch the game could have went either way," Brown said. "Our guys made enough plays at the right time at the end of the ball game."
Charity stripe: James tries to improve on different aspects of his game each summer. Last season it was his outside shot. This coming off-season he hopes to improve his free-throw shooting. James, a career 72.8 percent shooter, is shooting 59.2 percent in four playoff games.
"I'm not happy with it but it's continuing to get better; it's a work in progress," said James. "Late in the game, I've been able to make the ones that need to be made for us to move on. It's something I'll continue to work on and get better at."
Hopefully Lebron shuts Stevenson up for good this season on Wednesday:weightlift: