WASHINGTON, D.C. — How could the Cavaliers win Game 2 by 30 points and lose Game 3 by 36 to set an NBA record for the biggest two-game point swing in league playoff history?
The simplest — and perhaps most accurate — explanation is that one game was at home and the other was on the road.
“We have to be more conscious of what’s at hand and know it’s going to be a hostile environment,” LeBron James said Friday, one day after his team lost 108-72 to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.
Whether Cleveland can do that Sunday at 1 p.m. in Game 4 at the Verizon Center remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: If the Cavaliers don’t improve their mental and physical toughness, the teams could be tied 2-2 in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
“We’ve got to win on the road no matter who we’re playing,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “We have to figure that out.”
The Cavaliers were unable to do that down the stretch of the regular season, losing nine of their last 12 road games. Worse, a number of those defeats came against sub-.500 clubs that had nothing to play for.
The Wizards, who came back from a 2-0 series deficit to beat Chicago in six games in 2005, have everything to play for. Not only that, the ease with which they won Game 4 has them brimming with confidence once again.
“We’re feeling good about ourselves,” Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. “We’re very satisfied with how we approached (Game 3), our demeanor. That means a lot to us.”
The Cavaliers did virtually nothing right in Game 3, other than managing to get out of the Verizon Center without anyone getting hurt.
After committing just 19 turnovers over the first two games, Cleveland threw the ball away a whopping 23 times in Game 3, which led to 30 Washington points. The Cavaliers were particularly bad in the first half, when they committed 15 turnovers and had just six assists while falling behind 49-33.
“We did not take care of the ball,” Brown said. “Turning the ball over the way we did led to some very easy points for those guys.”
Part of the credit must go to the Wizards, who picked Cleveland players up farther out on the court and played more aggressively than they did in the first two games.
“The environment helped us,” Jordan said. “(The Cavaliers) even admitted they got a little out of sorts. The aggressiveness caught them a little off guard.”
That said, the Cavaliers were often their own worst enemy. Second-year guard Daniel “Boobie” Gibson was probably the worst culprit, committing four turnovers while repeatedly succumbing to a physical defender.
James and starting point guard Delonte West weren’t much better, as they matched Gibson with four turnovers apiece. James had 16 assists and just two turnovers over the first two games. West had eight assists and just one turnover.
“(The defense) wasn’t that much different than what they did in the first two games,” said Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had three turnovers of his own. “They were just successful.”
Added Brown: “It was not necessarily (a lack of) energy and focus for us. It was their energy we had to combat. … If we make mistakes being aggressive, we have to live with that. We can’t allow them to be aggressive and sit on our heels.”
When the Cavaliers did manage to hold onto the ball in Game 3, they usually failed to make shots. Cleveland hit just 29-of-73 from the field (.397), including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc (.125), and went an equally dreadful 12-of-23 at the line (.522).
“If we can knock down some open shots when I get double- or triple-teamed, it will loosen up the defense and allow me to get into the lane,” James said. “It sounds simple.”
It’s not, and it won’t get any easier if James doesn’t resume attacking the hoop. After attempting 31 free throws over the first two games, the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder stayed primarily on the perimeter in Game 3. The result was just four free throw attempts.
“You can’t contain him,” Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas said. “You’ve got to hope he contains himself. We just try to stay in front of him and hope he falters.”
Despite their woeful performance, there are several positives for the Cavaliers, not the least being that James has a history of bouncing back big after a shaky outing.
“He can get it going,” Jordan said. “He scores more than anybody in the fourth quarter. They come back more than anybody in the fourth. It’s a constant thing (the Wizards have to battle).”
Added Brown: “They’re loading up and throwing the kitchen sink at him. We have to do a better job of getting the ball from one side of the court to the other (when facing double teams).”
Also working in Cleveland’s favor is that guys like James, Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Devin Brown and Joe Smith are veterans who have been through many ups and downs in the playoffs.
“We’re not dealing with a young ballclub that has to see everything we did wrong (on tape),” James said. “We’re a veteran ballclub. We know what we did wrong.
“You don’t get two wins if you win by 30 in the postseason. We’re still up 2-1 and we’re in a comfortable position to go up 3-1 and win the series at home.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

NEXT UP

WHO: Cleveland at Washington
WHAT: Game 4, Eastern Conference quarterfinals; Cavs lead series, 2-1
WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Verizon Center, Washington
TV/RADIO: Channel 5; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
 

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