Lowly Cavs stun Lakers

Christian Eyenga brought the ball back behind his head, soared over a helpless Pau Gasol and hammered down a tomahawk dunk that he punctuated with a snarl and growl.

The Cavs weren't going to lose this one by 55 points. In fact, they weren't going to lose it at all.

All of the frustration, all of the humiliation and all of the sting from such a difficult season was unleashed in a 48-minute ball of fury on the unsuspecting Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

Less than a month after suffering the worst loss in franchise history to those same Lakers, the undertalented but gritty Cavaliers took the defending champs and shook them by the ears until the clock ran out for a stunning, inexplicable 104-99 victory at Quicken Loans Arena.

Just last month, the Lakers humiliated the Cavs 112-57 at Staples Center in a defeat that set team records for fewest points scored and worst loss in franchise history.

The Cavs team that showed up Wednesday looked far different, outhustling the slow and wobbly Lakers at both ends of the floor.

"It's been a long time since we actually had fun before, during and after the game," Antawn Jamison said. "You want to have more experiences like that, especially after what we've been through."

Ramon Sessions had a season-high 32 points and eight assists off the bench to carry the Cavs into the All-Star break on an unexpected high note. He replaced Mo Williams less than four minutes into the game when Williams picked up his second foul.

Cavs coach Byron Scott chose not to play Williams the rest of the night. He said Williams injured his right ankle at the start of the game last week against the Los Angeles Clippers and tweaked it again at the start of Wednesday's game, so he chose to hold him out the rest of the night.

The way Sessions was playing, the Cavs didn't need Williams. Sessions was aggressive driving through the teeth of the Lakers defense and made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch as the Lakers cut the Cavs' 10-point lead down to two. The Cavs made 8-of-10 free throws in the final minutes to hold on.

"It was a big game for us going into the break," Sessions said. "You couldn't ask for anything else than going into it with a win against a great team like the Lakers."

Pau Gasol had 30 points and 20 rebounds and Kobe Bryant had 17 points for the Lakers, but he shot just 8-of-24 and had seven of the Lakers' 19 turnovers. For the second consecutive game, he left the arena without talking to reporters.

The game was the final stop on the Lakers' seven-game, two-week road trip. Coach Phil Jackson was so disgusted after the game, he didn't address his players afterwards except to tell them when to report back next week.

"I think they took the (All-Star) break before the game started," he said.

Jamison had 19 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Hickson had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the inspired Cavs, but the play of the night belonged to Eyenga, who finished with 10 points.

His dunk invigorated another sold-out crowd that was roaring most of the night. Bryant had just made a 3-pointer to cut the Cavs lead to 72-71 late in the third when Eyenga took off from the baseline and soard over Gasol.

"I told him he should be trying to dunk on people just for the fun of it," Jamison said. "He's starting to be aggressive and attack the rim and that's what we need out of him. We don't need him out there shooting 3-pointers, we need him slashing to the basket and attacking."

Scott walked down to the Lakers' locker room and shared a moment with Bryant after the game, then he continued his celebration of the victory. Scott, incidentally, will spend most of his All-Star break at his home in Los Angeles.

"Always want to beat them," Scott said. "I love that organization and I still bleed a little purple and gold. When I go back home to Los Angeles tomorrow, I can walk with my chest stuck out proud because of what we accomplished."