Friday Wake and Break

There were only 3 games Thursday night, 2 of which were featured on TNT. The third game had this guy LeBron James. Might have heard of him. Here's how it went down:

*It was opening night in Cleveland, and the Cavs were down 0-1 after a loss to Boston, Wednesday night. Trying to go 1-0 with the Bobcats, was new coach, Larry Brown. LeBron and Co. dominated from the get go, eventually winning by 17, the final score 96-79. LeBron had 22-9-9, but still not hitting a high enough percentage of his FT's. He's got to start hitting those to get to the next level, especially considering how many times he gets to the line per game (he hit 8-12 last night). The man of the night was Boobie Gibson, getting 25 points on 10-14 shooting, including 4 from downtown. Mo Williams igave them exactly what they expected, in 17 points and 7 dimes. The blowout let LeBron rest more than usual, logging only 30 minutes for the game, but still got two VISCOUS dunks I highly recommend seeking out.

*A Texas battle and another coaching debut, Rick Carlisle for the Dallas Mavericks facing the Houston Rockets with newly acquired Ron Artest. Yao Ming led the way scoring 30 points and grabbing 13 boards. Ron Artest was Yao's sidekick tonight, almost matching his total with 29, leading a crucial run in the fourth quarter. There was a bit of a scuffle with Yao and Josh Howard, that led to an Artest technical (for seemingly trying to break up the players, but replays showed he was a little pushy with Howard). If there's a zero-tolerance policy for anyone in the game, it's Ron Ron. Dirk scored 36, and Josh "420" Howard had a great game with 27 points (15 of which in the first quarter), 11 boards, but it just wasn't enough, since they couldn't stop the Rockets from scoring. T-Mac played a good game as well, but sat out the fourth, taking it easy as he recovers from time off.

*Finally a third coaching debut, this time on the home court, Terry Porter in Phoenix taking on Chris Paul and his New Orleans Hornets. CP3 was himself, and playing against Steve "D-Liability" Nash, made his job easy. He finished just short of a triple-double with 20-8-10. Mo Pete was the surprise of the night, with 22 points, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. But the big story was at the end, with Posey showing why he got the money he asked for, by draining a few key 3's.. At around the same time, Steve Nash commits 3 turnovers on precious possessions, getting the lead to more than 10 a final time, sealing the deal. On Saturday, the Hornets play their home opener with LeBron James coming into town. LeBron vs. CP3, the two top bets for MVP. Get Excited!