Trans. Apr 4 6:40 ET (Apr 4 6:40 ET ) The handle never abandoned Deron Williams — he's still had that lethal crossover all year — but for most of this season, persistent ankle problems have sapped his elevation, keeping him in pain and largely earthbound.
Well, let's ask the Cleveland Cavaliers how D-Will's feeling these days:
Welcome back, Deron. Three cheers for juice cleanses and cortisone shots , huh?
Before shaking Wayne Ellington to the studs and finishing with that emphatic throwdown, the Brooklyn Nets point guard's last slam dunk in an NBA game had come at the 9:30 mark of the third quarter of a then-New Jersey win over the Philadelphia 76ers on April 13, 2012 — just 10 days shy of a full year ago. So when he navigated past the perimeter and gained the lane, he must have been thinking about it, right?
“I didn’t really plan it,” a smiling Williams said after the game, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post . “It’s just something that happened.”
Ellington had 20 points and seven rebound in Wednesday's 98-95 loss to Miami.
The Scoop:Ellington has scored at least 20 points in two of his last three games, and he should continue to play a big role with Dion Waiters sidelined.
Heading into Wednesday night's road contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat looked primed to extend their winning streak to 24 games and push closer to the 1971-72 Lakers' all-time record of 33 in a row. The Cavs entered the game in a rough spot, having lost three in a row and seven of their previous nine games. In addition, they were forced to play without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and dangerous rookie scorer Dion Waiters (plus the long-absent Anderson Varejao), two players with the potential to match Miami's firepower.
In the end, the Heat won a close game, 98-95 . But the score doesn't reflect the intensity of one of the wildest games of the NBA regular season. It's notable any time LeBron James returns to the city he left in the summer of 2010, but this game upped the ante.
After a bizarre delay involving carbon dioxide leaking from the scoreboard , the Heat overwhelmed the Cavaliers to take a stunning 55-34 halftime lead. The Heat looked unprepared and unable to contend with a more energetic and inspired team, scoring just 10 points in the second quarter and seemingly assured of having their streak etched in the record books as the second-longest in NBA history. At the same time, the Cavaliers played well above expectations, getting terrific performances from their backcourt of Shaun Livingston and Wayne Ellington and second-year forward Tristan Thompson. At the 7:43 mark of the third quarter, Cavs center Tyler Zeller completed a three-point play to push the lead to 67-40. It looked like the Heat could be content surrendering and sitting their stars in the fourth quarter.
And then we were all made witness to the awesome power of the 2012-13 Miami Heat. After the jump, get the full rundown of how they managed to extend the streak, complete with video highlights.
Heading into Wednesday night's road contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat looked primed to extend their winning streak to 24 games and push closer to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers' all-time record of 33 in a row. The Cavs entered the game in a rough spot, having lost three in a row and seven of their previous nine games. In addition, they were forced to play without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and dangerous rookie scorer Dion Waiters (plus the long-absent Anderson Varejao), two players with the potential to match Miami's firepower.
[Related: A fan runs onto the court in Cleveland and approaches LeBron James ]
In the end, the Heat won a close game, 98-95 . But the score doesn't reflect the intensity of one of the wildest games of the NBA regular season. It's notable any time LeBron James returns to the city he left in the summer of 2010, but this game upped the ante.
After a bizarre delay involving carbon dioxide leaking from the scoreboard , the Cavaliers overwhelmed the Heat to take a stunning 55-34 halftime lead. Miami looked unprepared and unable to contend with a more energetic and inspired team, scoring just 10 points in the second quarter and seemingly assured of having their streak ended at 23 games and etched in the record books as the second-longest in NBA history. At the same time, the Cavaliers played well above expectations, getting terrific performances from second-year forward Tristan Thompson and the backcourt of Shaun Livingston and Wayne Ellington. At the 7:43 mark of the third quarter, Cavs center Tyler Zeller completed a three-point play to push the lead to 67-40. It looked like the Heat could be content surrendering and sitting their stars in the fourth quarter.
And then we were all made witness to the awesome power of the 2012-13 Miami Heat. After the jump, get the full rundown of how they managed to extend the streak, complete with video highlights.
CLEVELAND -- Shooting guard Wayne Ellington scored the Cavaliers' last four points, including two free throws with 2.8 seconds left, as Cleveland slipped past the Utah Jazz 104-101 on Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
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