Cavs Top Spurs (Finally)

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 11, 1999 / 10:51 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

The Cavaliers stopped one long streak -- 10 straight losses to the Spurs -- and started another they wish could be delayed - a season-high four straight days off.

Wesley Person made two key 3-pointers in the third quarter as Cleveland beat the San Antonio Spurs 99-89 Thursday night.

Before winning Wednesday night at Charlotte, the Cavs had dropped three straight and were one of only two winless teams in the NBA.

Now, their best effort of this shortened season will be followed by four off days -- their longest stretch of inactivity this year.

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"Right now we'd just like to keep playing," said Person. "Guys are playing with a lot of confidence, but that's just the way it's going to be this season."

Welcome to the NBA in 1999. One night you're struggling, the next, you're streaking.

"I think we're playing as a team and sharing the ball more," said Cavs forward Shawn Kemp. "We're concentrating on the little things more than we did in the first three games. We're just trying to get this streak going a little bit. When you lose three straight, all you can do is come back and play hard."

Person, the cavs' best perimeter shooter, entered the game just 3-for-16 on 3-pointers but found his touch with a pair in the third when Cleveland outscored San Antonio 32-21.

The Cavs went up by 20 in the fourth period and hung on to beat the Spurs for the first time since March 23, 1993. Cleveland also stopped a five-game home losing against San Antonio with its best overall game this season.

Kemp had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 for the Cavs.

"It sure feels better looking at that 2-3 than it did a couple of nights ago," Cleveland coach Mike Fratello said.

Tim Duncan had 31 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Spurs, who dropped their third in a row. David Robinson had 16 points but played only 17 minutes through three quarters because of fou trouble.

"That pretty much summed it up. The game was called pretty tight," said Robinson, who attempted just five field goals. "The fouls got us in trouble, and then Cleveland did a nice job against us."

Derek Anderson and Vitaly Potapenko led Cleveland's reserves with 14 points apiece. For the second straight night, Cleveland's bench came up big, outscoring San Antonio's second unit 36-20.

The Spurs entered the game leading the NBA by holding opponents to 36 percent shooting from the floor, but Cleveland finished 33-of-72 (46 percent) and shot 52 percent in the decisive third quarter.

More important, the Cavs made four 3-pointers, one less than their total through their first four games.

Person's second trey with 3:13 left in the third put the Cavs up 62-53, and Anderson drilled another at the buzzer as Cleveland took a 73-59 lead into the fourth.

Johnny Newman's 3-pointer gave Cleveland an 82-62 lead with just over eight minutes left. The Spurs were able to get within six in the final two minutes, but the Cavs put it away at the foul line.

"It was almost like we got up by 19 and we felt everything was going our way because we got on that roll in the third and then they made the run back," Fratello said. "But we hung on, it was a good win."

Notes

Kemp is 35-of-44 from the line in his last three games.
Robinson went over 16,000 career points with a free throw in the second quarter.
Person is the first Cleveland player to make more than one 3-pointer in a game this season. The Cavs were just 5-of-26 from beyond the arc in their first four games.
Cleveland won't play again until Tuesday against Orlando, the club's longest stretch off this season.
Beginning with the game against the Magic, the Cavs will play eight of their next 10 at home.