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Mo better: Cavs snap streak at 26 in OT

Feb 12, 2011 - 5:47 AM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Apparently, all Cleveland needed to snap its 26-game losing streak was a little more Mo.

Mo Williams returned to the court for the first time since January 15, posting 17 points and 14 assists to spark the Cavaliers to a 126-119 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.

"It is kind of bitter sweet, I'm glad it's over with," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "If we would have played this hard last game we would have won."

The Cavaliers broke the longest losing streak in NBA history, and won for the first time since a 109-102 overtime decision against the New York Knicks on December 18. They also snapped an 11-game home losing streak.

While Williams was present for most of the losses early in the Cavaliers' streak, his performance off the bench Friday enabled teammates to focus on scoring.

"[The Cavaliers] are a different team with their starting point guard," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We couldn't control the penetration they were using with him."

Antawn Jamison poured in 35 points, including a crucial three-pointer with 22.1 seconds left in overtime. J.J. Hickson had 27 with 14 rebounds, and blocked a potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation, while Daniel Gibson scored nine of his 17 points in overtime.

For a team holding a 26-game losing streak, nothing is certain, especially in a close game in which leads aren't built to last. The Clippers wiped out deficits multiple times, including on several occasions late during Friday's contest.

After Williams drained a three-pointer with 3:28 to play for a 104-98 advantage, Los Angeles scored the next six points to tie the game.

Then, after the Cavaliers opened a 108-104 lead with 1:42 to play, Blake Griffin followed with a layup and Cleveland's offense started to struggle.

Williams and Hickson missed layups, and Baron Davis sank a jumper to tie the game. Jamison missed a hook shot, and Williams committed a foul with 20.2 seconds remaining that put Clippers rookie Eric Bledsoe at the line. Bledsoe made both of his attempts, and all of a sudden Cleveland found itself trailing again.

But Williams, who had missed the Cavaliers' last 13 games with a strained hip flexor, saved Cleveland. With time winding down, he dribbled to the left side of the court, jabbed in, then stepped back and knocked down a jumper with 6.3 on the clock, tying the game at 110.

The Clippers had a final possession and a chance to extend Cleveland's misery, but Hickson assured they didn't. Davis drove to the hoop on the left side of the lane and tossed up a shot that Hickson swatted away at the top of its arc, barely getting the ball with his fingers.

Those two plays led to a strong start in overtime, when the Cavaliers scored eight of the first 10 points. They were up 120-114 with 1:18 remaining after Gibson made two foul shots, but even that lead wasn't safe.

Bledsoe dropped in a layup and Randy Foye drilled a transition three-pointer, and there were the Clippers again, within a point with 44 seconds to go.

Cleveland called a timeout to regroup, and grabbed the rebound of Williams' missed layup. That led to Jamison's long-distance shot and a 123-119 lead.

At the other end, Foye hoisted up another three-pointer and it started to go in, but rimmed out at the last moment. Hickson got the rebound, and at that moment a sense of assured victory spread throughout Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers were up by two possessions with only 13 seconds remaining, while the Clippers had fouled Gibson, and Davis was ejected after committing his second technical foul.

Everything was going Cleveland's way at the right time for the first time in almost two months. After Williams hit the technical free throw and Gibson made his pair, the final seconds ticked down as the ovation built up. The game was over, and Cleveland's fans were cheering.

"For the morale of this team it is finally good to get a win," Jamison said.

Game Notes

Cleveland, which had lost 36 of its last 37 entering Friday's game, is still in search of its first regulation victory since November 27...The Cavaliers avoided setting a record for North American pro sports. The NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their first 26 games from 1976-77...Griffin led Los Angeles with 32 points and 13 rebounds, while Davis finished with 26 points and seven assists...The Clippers have lost five of six...Neither team led by more than eight. The game featured 22 lead changes and 16 ties...The Clippers held a 53-52 halftime lead...Jamison scored his 18,000th career point. He entered the game with 17,983.