The Cavs lead the Wizards 2-1 in the best-of-7 first round playoff series. Here’s Wizards guard Antonio Daniels:
Antonio Daniels on Game Four: “We have to come out with the same energy from Game Three.  That was big.  In my three years here that is the loudest I heard this arena by far.  It was electric in here.  Those fans were amazing.  We have to come out with that same energy, that same enthusiasm. We have to use home to our advantage.”
Daniels on the Playoffs: “This is the best time of the year.  It’s warm outside, there’s great weather, and then you walk in here and the crowd is going crazy like that.   Also, it’s great because every team isn’t here.  You don’t have the opportunity to play in the playoffs all the time.  So when you have the opportunity to do it you have to take advantage of it.  The moment you walk into a playoff game it’s completely different than when you walk into the gym for any of those 82 regular season games.”
Daniels on the Verizon Center crowd: “You really feel the effect of the crowd.  When you walk in there and that crowd is going crazy like that, you fell as a team that you can accomplish anything.  That’s why home court is so important.”
Daniels on coming off the bench: “There’s such a difference between starting and managing the game, and coming off the bench and changing the game.  Coming off the bench and changing the game is something I’ve done for 11 years in my career so it’s something I feel comfortable with.”

The AP reports: DeShawn Stevenson, who started the (LeBron James) “overrated” talk and invited Soulja Boy to the game, had a “can’t-feel-my-face” 19 points. Caron Butler (17 points) and Antawn Jamison (15) also found their games. James didn’t have his. And, yes, those 15 first-half Cleveland turnovers had a lot to do with it, too… James said Washington’s tactics in the first two games were like a “Hack-a-Bron” strategy, but there was nothing like that this time. He finished with 22 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field and took only four free throws… The one major issue for the Wizards is Gilbert Arenas, who started for the first time since November but injured his surgically repaired left knee in the first half. He walked off the court late in the first half with an obvious limp and a bone bruise. He is listed as day-to-day.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Wizards had multiple players contribute modest point totals, while the Cavs had LeBron scoring 22, Devin Brown score 10, and no one else even reached double-digits. The Wizards shot 52.1%, the Cavs just 39.7%. The Wizards nailed 8-of-19 three-pointers (Stevenson 5-of-7 threes), the Cavs went just 2-of-16 (both from Devin Brown). The Wizards got to the line more than the Cavs, and shot better when they got there. The Wizards had 13 steals, the Cavs just 4.

The AP reports: Gilbert Arenas was listed in the starting lineup Thursday night for the Washington Wizards, who needed a spark after going down 0-2 in their playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The three-time All-Star started for the first time since Nov. 16, his last game before having a second surgery on his left knee. He missed 66 straight games and had been used as a reserve since returning late in the regular season.

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 30 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16, and the Cavs played their best game since the Feb. 21 megatrade, blowing out the Washington Wizards 116-86 to take a 2-0 lead in an opening-round playoff series oozing with bad blood. The 30-point margin of victory was the largest in Cleveland’s 112-game postseason history, and the Cavaliers’ performance was perhaps their finest 48 minutes since November… The Wizards hardly bothered James, who finished with 12 assists and nine rebounds, barely missing his third career postseason triple-double. James went to the bench with 6:12 left… Wally Szczerbiak added 15 points for the Cavs, who have struggled with injuries and inconsistency since GM Danny Ferry dealt half his roster at the trading deadline… Gilbert Arenas went 2-for-10 from the field and Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were both 4-of-13 as the Wizards’ Big Three combined for 28 points. The trio spent much of the fourth quarter sitting and thinking about what happened and the task ahead.

The AP reports: Bumped and banged by the Wizards on every drive, LeBron James scored 32 points, making two tough shots in traffic down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the NBA playoffs with an intense 93-86 win over Washington on Saturday… Resting a bothersome back, James sat out the early part of the fourth quarter… Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, who led the Wizards with 24 points, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game—and one tick to spare on the 24-second shot clock… Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Delonte West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers, who, unlike the Wizards, stayed quiet in the weeks leading up to the series.

The Akron Beacon Journal (Brian Windhorst) reports: It became official Wednesday. LeBron James became the first player in franchise history to win the NBA scoring title by averaging exactly 30.0 points. It was not a surprise. He grabbed the scoring lead in November and held it the rest of the way. It was not the highest scoring average of his career, though. He averaged 31.4 points per game in 2005-06. By combining it with averages of 7.9 rebounds, which was a career high, and 7.2 assists, which tied a career high, James became just the third player in NBA history to average 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in league history. The other two were Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan.

The AP reports: With its reserves playing most of the minutes, Detroit closed the regular-season Wednesday night with an 84-74 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that beat the Pistons four straight times last season and denied them a trip to the NBA finals… Rookie Aaron Afflalo scored 15 points, Jason Maxiell had 13 and Rodney Stuckey 12 for the Pistons, who will meet the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round starting Sunday. Wally Szczerbiak, who has struggled to find his shooting touch since coming to Cleveland in a trade, scored 18 points to pace the Cavaliers. Delonte West, another of the newer Cavaliers, added 11 points and Dwayne Jones had 10 rebounds. Not wanting to risk injury to James or center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown didn’t activate his two best players so they’d be ready for the Wizards.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Billy Thomas for the remainder of the season and playoffs and for the 2008-09 season.  He was signed to a 10-day contract on February 22 and to his second 10-day contract on March 3.  Thomas has played in six games with the Cavaliers this season.
Thomas is often called a shooting guard due to his height, but he’s got the strength and weight of a small forward. He’s not your average NBA player. Decent addition.

The AP reports: The 76ers saw Devin Brown’s shot fall short, heard the buzzer and darted toward the locker room for an apparent victory celebration. Game over? Not so fast. Officials reviewed the final sequence for several minutes before deciding that Sixers center Samuel Dalembert fouled Brown with 0.2 seconds left and brought Philadelphia back to the court for the free throws. Minutes after the game was seemingly over, Brown sank the pressure-packed free throws to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-90 win over the Sixers on Monday night and clinch the fourth seed in the East… LeBron James scored 27 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 and the Cavaliers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs… Andre Miller scored 26 points and Lou Williams had 21 for the struggling Sixers, who have lost all the momentum built during a torrid 11-4 March that shot them up the East standings.

Cavaliers guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic suffered a left ankle sprain in the third quarter of last night’s game at Philadelphia.  He underwent an MRI this morning at The Cleveland Clinic.  The results of which confirmed the left ankle sprain.  He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks and his status will be updated as appropriate.