Classic Cavs

Jonathan Knight

Description

This brand-new edition of Classic Cavs counts down the fifty greatest Cleveland Cavaliers games, from their 67-loss inaugural NBA season in 1970-71 through the franchise's renaissance following the triumphant return of LeBron James. The rich, colorful history of the Cavs is woven into tales that tie together the early games at rickety old Cleveland Arena, the incredible highs and heartbreaking lows played out at Richfield Coliseum, and the fierce battles waged at the "Q."Knight ranks last-second nail-biters alongside satisfying routs and postseason epics, from the phenomenon known as the "Miracle of Richfield" to the Cavs' trips to the NBA Finals. Included are the heroics of characters like Bingo Smith, Austin Carr, World B. Free, Mark Price, Craig Ehlo, Kyrie Irving, and, of course, LeBron James. Whether it was because of a fantastic finish or an amazing individual performance, each game included in Classic Cavs is worth remembering and revisiting, appealing to Cavaliers fans everywhere.

Sujets

• Baloncesto
• Basketball
• Ohio
• Basket-ball

Informations

• Publié par: The Kent State University Press
• Date de parution: 30 septembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781631012006
• Langue: English

Extrait

Classic Cavs
CLASSIC SPORTS
J ONATHAN K NIGHT, Series Editor
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Classic Cavs: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Cavaliers History Second Edition, Revised and Updated
J ONATHAN K NIGHT
Classic Cavs
THE 50 GREATEST GAMES IN CLEVELAND CAVALIERS HISTORY Second Edition, Revised and Updated
Jonathan Knight

Black Squirrel Books™ Kent, Ohio
© 2016 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
All rights reserved

Black Squirrel Books™
Frisky, industrious black squirrels are a familiar sight on the Kent State University campus and the inspiration for Black Squirrel Books™, a trade imprint of The Kent State University Press.
www.KentStateUniversityPress.com
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2016010952
ISBN 978-1-60635-281-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Knight, Jonathan, 1976- author.
Title: Classic Cavs : the 50 greatest games in Cleveland Cavaliers history / Jonathan Knight.
Description: Second edition, revised and updated. | Kent, Ohio : Kent State University Press, [2016]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016010952 (print) | LCCN 2016012522 (ebook) | ISBN 9781606352816 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781631012006 (ePub) | ISBN 9781631012013 (ePDF)
Subjects: LCSH: Cleveland Cavaliers (Basketball team)--History.
Classification: LCC GV885.52.C57 K65 2016 (print) | LCC GV885.52.C57 (ebook) | DDC 796.323/640977132--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016010952
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To my mother for making our family special—and for keeping it together.
Contents
Preface
#50 The Lovable Losers Strike Back
Cavaliers 114, Philadelphia 76ers 101, December 27, 1970
#49 Cool Clyde
Cavaliers 117, New York Knicks 112 (OT), October 25, 1977
#48 Down but Not Out
Cavaliers 104, New Orleans Hornets 100, February 23, 2004
#47 We Will Win
Cavaliers 128, Phoenix Suns 124 (2 OT), December 19, 1975
#46 Joe Tait Day
Philadelphia 76ers 138, Cavaliers 117, March 27, 1981
#45 Lenny’s Return
Cavaliers 113, Seattle SuperSonics 107, November 12, 1972
#44 A Gund-Raising Event
Cavaliers 86, Indiana Pacers 77, April 27, 1998
#43 Not in Our Garage
Cavaliers 102, Miami Heat 90, March 29, 2011
#42 Friday Night Fights
Cavaliers 80, Detroit Pistons 79, January 27, 1989
#41 A Learning Experience
Cavaliers 86, Detroit Pistons 84, May 17, 2006
#40 Kyriediculous
Cavaliers 99, Portland Trail Blazers 94, January 28, 2015
#39 Backs to the Wall
Cavaliers 108, Chicago Bulls 105 (OT), May 5, 1989
#38 Yes, Virginia …
Cavaliers 113, Utah Jazz 112, December 23, 1991
#37 Cavalier Fever
Cavaliers 106, Boston Celtics 87, May 14, 1976
#36 Some Magic of Their Own
Cavaliers 97, Los Angeles Lakers 95, December 5, 1987
#35 Walking on the Moon
Cavaliers 100, New York Knicks 95, April 3, 1975
#34 Incredible to Watch
Cavaliers 128, San Antonio Spurs 125 (OT), March 12, 2015
#33 Maalox Moment
Cavaliers 99, Chicago Bulls 85, May 25, 1992
#32 Rite of Passage
Cavaliers 121, Washington Wizards 120 (OT), May 3, 2006
#31 The Miracle of Euclid Avenue
Cavaliers 111, New York Knicks 109, February 20, 1972
#30 Don’t Make the Cavaliers Mad
Cavaliers 148, Miami Heat 80, December 17, 1991
#29 Mistake-Free
Cavaliers 113, Chicago Bulls 112, February 17, 1992
#28 A Night to Be Proud
Cavaliers 129, Los Angeles Lakers 111, November 5, 1985
#27 Shedding the Monkey
Cavaliers 98, New Jersey Nets 89, April 30, 1992
#26 Out With the Old
Cavaliers 114, New York Knicks 92, March 24, 1974
#25 Miracle Part II
Cavaliers 114, New Jersey Nets 100, April 9, 1985
#24 Larry Legend
Cavaliers 114, Boston Celtics 112 (OT), May 10, 1992
#23 With a Little Help from Their Friends
Cavaliers 83, Boston Celtics 78, May 11, 1976
#22 Incredi-Bull
Cavaliers 73, Chicago Bulls 70, February 27, 1997
#21 Mixing Magic
Cavaliers 105, Boston Celtics 98, April 23, 1985
#20 Going Jordan
Cavaliers 86, Chicago Bulls 84, May 10, 2015
#19 The First
Cavaliers 105, Portland Trail Blazers 103, November 12, 1970
#18 Bingo!
Cavaliers 80, Washington Bullets 79, April 15, 1976
#17 Playing through the Pain
Cavaliers 114, Atlanta Hawks 111 (OT), May 24, 2015
#16 Footnote to History
Cavaliers 124, Los Angeles Lakers 120, March 22, 1972
#15 Thirteen Years, Fourteen Seconds
Cavaliers 114, Washington Wizards 113 (OT), May 5, 2006
#14 Flat-Out Amazing
Cavaliers 96, Golden State Warriors 91, June 9, 2015
#13 A Banner Day
Cavaliers 99, New York Knicks 94, April 10, 1976
#12 Instant Classic
Cavaliers 96, Orlando Magic 95, May 22, 2009
#11 Revenge of the Marshmallow Men
Cavaliers 107, Chicago Bulls 81, May 21, 1992
#10 The Grit Squad
Cavaliers 95, Golden State Warriors 93 (OT), June 7, 2015
#9 Beyond the Point of Exhaustion
Cavaliers 154, Los Angeles Lakers 153 (4 OT), January 29, 1980
#8 Like in a Video Game
Cavaliers 109, Detroit Pistons 107 (2 OT), May 31, 2007
#7 A Religious Experience
Cavaliers 92, Washington Bullets 91, April 22, 1976
#6 Defend the Land
Cavaliers 115, Golden State Warriors 101, June 16, 2016
#5 Seventh Heaven
Cavaliers 122, Boston Celtics 104, May 17, 1992
#4 Fighting for Plane Trips
Cavaliers 112, Golden State Warriors 97, June 13, 2016
#3 Lit Up Like Las Vegas
Cavaliers 98, Detroit Pistons 82, June 2, 2007
#2 The Miracle of Richfield
Cavaliers 87, Washington Bullets 85, April 29, 1976
#1 Finally
Cavaliers 93, Golden State Warriors 89, June 19, 2016
cavalier (n.)—a gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship (adj.)—marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters —Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Preface
It was a one-in-11,000 shot.
When twenty-nine-year old Jerry Tomko wrote a letter to the Plain Dealer in the winter of 1970, he couldn’t have known the impact it would have. He was just tossing out an idea, submitting one of 11,000 entries in the newspaper’s contest to name Cleveland’s new National Basketball Association franchise.
At first glance, his recommendation didn’t seem to fit. There was nothing really connecting it to the city or its history. But still, it had a nice, alliterative ring to it. It just sort of rolled off the tongue.
“The name Cleveland Cavaliers,” Tomko wrote in that letter, “represents a group of daring, fearless men whose life’s pact was never surrender, no matter what the odds.”
In retrospect, it had to be “Cavaliers.” It seems silly to imagine LeBron James leading a fast break for the Cleveland Jays. Mark Price launching three-point shots for the Cleveland Foresters. Austin Carr slicing through defenses for the Cleveland Towers. Or Joe Tait calling the action for the Cleveland Presidents.
Those were the alternatives when the contest’s finalists were put to a readers’ vote. And “Cavaliers” won by a landslide, collecting more than a third of the 6,000 votes cast.
Despite Tomko’s eloquent introduction, the team that’s taken the floor hasn’t always reflected his depiction. Once upon a time—more than once, to be perfectly frank—they were better known as the Cleveland Cadavers.
They were a punch line, a living nightmare every other franchise warily looked upon as an object lesson. While the city of Cleveland struggled to avoid the reputation of a sad-sack sports circus over the final third of the twentieth century and well into the next, the Cavs were often the colorful clowns at center ring.
Starting with their complicated birth in 1970, when they seemed to personify the ugliness and awkwardness that Cleveland sports would endure in the coming decade, the Cavs haven’t always been easy to love. Four different times—in four different decades—they’ve lost more than sixty games in a season, even stringing together the longest losing streak in NBA history. Their bad decisions have been legion, from player acquisition to coaching hires to uniform design. And at one point, the NBA itself stepped in to run things when the wheels came ridiculously off the wagon.
Which isn’t to say it’s all been banana peels and pies in the face. In between the nonsense, there were some truly special moments, many of which make up the book you now hold in your hands. But far too often, when the Cavs did have their moments, they were defined more by bad luck and clumsy timing rather than achievement.
A broken foot sabotaged their first genuine shot at a title. A brilliant core of nice-guy talent was labeled the team of the forthcoming decade, then denied time and again by a tongue-wagging legend from Chicago. The greatest player in franchise history came of age and single-handedly carried the team to destiny’s doorstep. But without the supporting cast to help him cross the threshold, he departed, quite literally, for sunnier pastures.
After each balloon-bursting, hard-luck interlude, the Cavs corkscrewed right back into comic infamy. And yet, after each fiasco, they reemerged from the ashes like a phoenix: stronger and more powerful than before.
From a greasy downtown tenement to a concrete palace in a pasture to a glistening jewel back downtown, this franchise has followed a winding road filled with several pretty embarrassing potholes. But in between, there has been some remarkable scenery: the franchise’s first tangible baby steps; a generation-defining miracle in the meadows; the arrival, departure, and return of a hometown savior; and a historic NBA Finals comeback culminated by an unforgettable Sunday night in June that may represent the greatest moment in Cleveland sports history.
Fitting, too,