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	<channel>		<title>RUWT? News</title>
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		<description>RUWT? News for Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks 5/10/2009</description>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:34:40 GMT</pubDate>
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				<title><![CDATA[James scores 47, leads Cavaliers to 97-82 win]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA(AP) -- LeBron James had that unstoppable feeling.

Everyone get out of the way. Time for him to do something really
special.

As if being the league's MVP wasn't enough, James scored 47
points in his best performance yet of these playoffs, leading
the Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of their second straight
postseason sweep with a 97-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on
Saturday night.

"It's unexplainable, honestly," James said after carrying
Cleveland to a 3-0 lead in the series. "There's only a few guys
in this league that can get into a zone like that, and I'm
blessed to have the ability to be one of those guys.

"You just feel like you can make pretty much every shot you
take."

He'll get no argument from the Hawks, who put up their best
fight of the series and still find themselves just one loss away
from calling it a season. The Cavaliers said James was the first
player ever to score that many points, grab that many rebounds
(12) and dole out that many assists (eight) in a playoff game.

"LeBron was just out of his mind tonight," Atlanta's Josh Smith
said.

Cleveland kept up its dominating run through the playoffs,
setting an NBA record with its seventh straight double-figure
win to eclipse the mark set by the 2004 Indiana Pacers. The only
solace for the Hawks: They stopped the Cavaliers' streak of
20-point playoff wins at three, including a pair of routs in
Cleveland.

The Hawks were only down 47-46 at the halftime, and they surged
back into their first second-half lead of the series with a 13-0
run in the third quarter. But Zaza Pachulia got ejected for
arguing a foul call - acting as though he might attack the
officials - and Atlanta faded away down the stretch.

James made sure of that.

He normally rests the first few minutes of the second and fourth
quarters, but this time he asked to stay in the game heading to
the final period. Coach Mike Brown wasn't about to sit his star
down.

"He took the ball, put it in his hands and said he was going to
score for us, so I told him, 'OK,"' Brown said. "I just told
everybody else, 'Let's defend."'

James eclipsed his previous high in these playoffs - 38 points
vs. the Pistons in an opening-round sweep - and finished just
one off his best playoff performance ever, a 48-point night
against Detroit while leading Cleveland to its first trip to the
NBA finals in 2007.

They appear to be on the way again, especially with the MVP
leading the way.

James hit a running 13-footer to send the Cavaliers to the final
period with a 72-65 lead. If the Hawks had any thoughts of a
comeback, he quickly erased them.

James hit a jumper near the courtside seat and slapped his hands
in delight with just over 8 minutes remaining. On Cleveland's
next possession, he stood out near the half-court line, barking
instructions at his teammates. Delonte West and Zydrunas
Ilgauskas both popped out to set picks, and James weaved his way
through the Atlanta defense before pulling up to launch a
floater just off the foul lane.

Nothing but net.

"When you've got the hot hand, you continue to go to it," he
said. "Tonight, I felt like I had the hot hand. I got anywhere
and everywhere I wanted to get on the floor."

As if he needed any extra motivation, James kept jawing with an
overzealous Atlanta fan near the court - and kept making shots.

"A gentleman over there decided to talk back with me," James
said. "It's happened in the past. It usually doesn't work out
good for the other team."

While James was a virtual one-man show, he kept his teammates
involved with all those assists. He also led Cleveland to a
dominant performance on the boards, 46-23.

Finally, with 44 seconds remaining, James' work was done. He
went off to a big ovation from the smattering of Cleveland fans
who hung around to chant, "MVP! MVP! MVP!"

James has been incredibly efficient in this series, playing 108
minutes and scoring 108 points. He was at his best in this one.

"He had the attitude he was not going to lose," teammate Joe
Smith said. "He put us on his back. Once he gets going, nobody
in the league is going to stop him."

Atlanta was hardly in position to challenge the Cavaliers, who
had the league's best record during the regular season (66-16).
When factoring in that three starters - Joe Johnson, Al Horford
and Marvin Williams - were hurting, there seemed little chance
of Atlanta challenging the Cavaliers.

They did for nearly three quarters, though Pachulia's ejection
seemed to take any life out of the raucous crowd - and the home
team. The Hawks were outscored 31-17 after the emotional
Georgian was tossed.

"I thought it was an offensive foul," Pachulia said. "Maybe I
overreacted."

It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.

James was 15 of 25 from the field, went 5 of 10 outside the
3-point arc (even banking in one), and wound up making more free
throws - 12 of 16 - than the entire Hawks' team attempted (7 of
11).

"He's not the MVP for nothing," Pachulia said. "He's the best
player in the league. He knows when to push the gas. That's what
he did."

Johnson, who didn't decide until game time that he was healthy
enough to play, led the Hawks with 21 points. Smith added 18 and
Flip Murray 17.

Ilgauskas scored 14, West had 12 and Mo Williams 11 for the
Cavaliers.

Notes: Horford played more than 35 minutes on his gimpy ankle
but wasn't much of a factor. He had six points and four
rebounds. Williams played only 13 1/2 minutes and scored four
points. ... There were plenty of celebrities in the sellout
crowd of 20-143, including rappers T.I., Nelly and Young Jeezy,
as well as producer Jermaine Dupree.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[nba]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nba/news/96945-James-scores-47-leads-Cavaliers-to-97-82-win</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nba/news/96945-James-scores-47-leads-Cavaliers-to-97-82-win</guid>
				<pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 04:37:12 GMT</pubDate>
			</item>
		
			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Cavaliers-Hawks Preview]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

Cleveland At Atlanta, Game Three, 8:00 p.m. EDT

ATLANTA (AP) --  If this was a heavyweight fight, the referee
might have already stepped in to stop it.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a record roll
and throwing nothing but haymakers. The Atlanta Hawks are all
banged up and on the ropes.

Of course, it takes four wins to advance in the NBA playoffs, so
the Cavaliers' work is only half done. But it's hard to see any
way the team with the league's MVP and best record of anyone
during the regular season could possibly let this one slip away,
not after those first two games in Cleveland.

The Cavs took Game 1 by 27 points. Game 2 was a 20-point blowout
(and not really that close).

Compounding Atlanta's problems: Three starters - leading scorer
Joe Johnson, center Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams - are
hurting. Horford (sprained ankle) and Williams (sprained wrist)
sat out Game 2, while Johnson twisted his right ankle after the
contest already had gotten out of hand and left the arena in a
walking boot.

They're all questionable for Game 3 Saturday night. Even if they
play, none will be at full strength.

"It's a little frustrating not to have a full deck," Hawks coach
Mike Woodson said after practice Friday. "No one wants to go
through a playoff series all beat up. We've got some key guys on
the sideline."

Horford and Williams took part in the off-day practice at
Philips Arena, though it really was more of a walkthrough.
Johnson stayed in the back, getting treatment.

"Injuries happen. They're part of the game," said Zaza Pachulia,
who would start at center if Horford can't go. "Unfortunately,
it's happened to us in the playoffs. That's not a good time. But
we're still going to have five guys on the court."

Don't expect any sympathy from the Cavaliers, who have won all
six of their playoff games by double figures - matching the
record streak set by the 2004 Indiana Pacers - and also became
just the second team to win three straight postseason games by
at least 20 points. The 1986 Los Angeles Lakers, led by Magic
Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were the first.

"I've seen a lot of teams come up with some big-time efforts
when starters are out," Wally Szczerbiak said. "Look at the
playoffs this year. Dwight Howard was out and the Magic won Game
6 on the road in Philly to close out that series. So we've got
to be ready for their guys to step up. There are professional
basketball players in this league who are hungry and ready to
play. We have to go out and do our jobs and continue to play the
way we have, no matter who is out there for them."

The Hawks can look back to last year's playoffs in their search
for inspiration.

Atlanta was blown out in its first two games of its
opening-round series against Boston, and just about everyone
predicted the eventual champion Celtics would win in a sweep.

Instead, the Hawks won all three on their home court, forcing an
improbable seventh game in Boston. OK, so they were routed in
the decisive contest, but Atlanta would surely take a
winner-take-all game in Cleveland if it was offered.

"It's a tough task, but anything is possible," Atlanta forward
Josh Smith said. "If we step up, we can make a series out of
this."

Pachulia was more realistic when someone brought up the
Celtics-Hawks series.

"It kind of reminds me of last year," he said. "But this is
different, because we didn't have all the injuries last year.
Three guys are injured. That's kind of tough, especially when
they are guys who started all year."

Woodson spent the day focusing on defense. The Cavaliers shot 50
percent from the field and averaged 102 points in the first two
games, led by James at 30.5.

"They have a great player and a great supporting cast, but we're
not playing defense nowhere near as good as we did during the
season and during the Miami series," the Atlanta coach said,
referring to the opening round. "There were too many gaps, too
many holes. We tried to simplify things today. We have been good
at protecting the paint. That's something they're doing right
now, but we're not. We gave up something like 20 layups in Game
2. And 102 points a game? That's not going to cut it."

The Cavaliers' main concern is Delonte West, who got poked in
the right eye in Game 2. He didn't practice before the team left
for Atlanta, but coach Mike Brown expects him to start Saturday.

There was a lingering buzz in Cleveland about James' step-back,
36-foot jumper at the halftime horn to give the Cavaliers a
24-point lead.

"I still don't know how you can shoot a jump shot from that far
out," Brown said. "That's amazing to me. And not only a jump
shot, but a step-back jump shot, which is even harder.

"My son plays NBA Live," the coach added, "and that's the only
time I've seen that happen."]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[nba]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nba/news/96730-Cavaliers-Hawks-Preview</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nba/news/96730-Cavaliers-Hawks-Preview</guid>
				<pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2009 00:13:02 GMT</pubDate>
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