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Trash-talking Wizards having little effect on James, Cavaliers

Apr 30, 2008 - 1:46 PM Washington at Cleveland 6:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference first round Cavaliers lead, 3-1

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to end all of the trash talking.

James and the Cavaliers try to close out the Washington Wizards when the teams meet for Game Five of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old phenom, James had 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead Cleveland to a 100-97 victory over the Wizards during Game Four, but it was Delonte West who was the hero on Sunday.

West made a 3-pointer from the left corner with 5.4 seconds remaining as James drew a double-team inside the key before passing the ball to his wide-open teammate.

"I'm pretty sure everybody in the gym, including their defense, thought (James) was going to take the last shot," West said. "And I think sometimes we forget this guy has great court vision. He made the right play, and that's what makes him a great player.

"The play was really drawn up for everybody just to get out of the way and let LeBron do what he does best. Fortunately, that's one thing that he does best is he finds the open man."

West, who grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, finished with a career playoff-high 21 points.

"It's big, first and foremost, that we got the win going back home," West said. "But it always feels good to come back in front of where I grew up playing."

DeShawn Stevenson, who referred to James as "overrated" before the series, was assessed a flagrant foul in the second quarter when he hit James from behind, knocking the headband off his head.

Stevenson then rose off the floor and charged at James but was restrained by teammates.

"I definitely saw DeShawn coming and I didnt even know that he hit me with a closed fist until one of my teammates told me," James said. "I didn't know that. If we was on the park, something definitely would have escalated.

"But, you know, I guess that's what they want to do. They want to hurt LeBron James this series. It ain't working."

The Wizards might want to consider changing strategies for Game Five if they plan on forcing a Game Six.