With LeBron James playing cautiously on a sprained left ankle, Gooden scored 19 of his 24 points before halftime Wednesday night, powering the Cavaliers to a 109-102 victory over the Washington Wizards and a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
Gooden normally doesn't have many offensive plays called for him by Cleveland coach Mike Brown, who may have to rethink that philosophy after the forward came through on a night when James was clearly not himself.
Gooden's performance came exactly one year after he had 24 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 of the Cavs' first-round series against the Wizards. Cleveland lost that game before winning the series in six.
But the 6-foot-10 Gooden, who is growing out an 1980s-style ducktail hairdo, helped make sure recent history wouldn't be repeated.
The Wizards, though, made it interesting in the final minute. They kept pecking away at Cleveland's lead and closed within 105-102 on a 3-pointer by Jarvis Hayes with 18 seconds left.
[Source]
Gooden normally doesn't have many offensive plays called for him by Cleveland coach Mike Brown, who may have to rethink that philosophy after the forward came through on a night when James was clearly not himself.
Gooden's performance came exactly one year after he had 24 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2 of the Cavs' first-round series against the Wizards. Cleveland lost that game before winning the series in six.
But the 6-foot-10 Gooden, who is growing out an 1980s-style ducktail hairdo, helped make sure recent history wouldn't be repeated.
The Wizards, though, made it interesting in the final minute. They kept pecking away at Cleveland's lead and closed within 105-102 on a 3-pointer by Jarvis Hayes with 18 seconds left.
[Source]
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