Carlos Boozer, again, put his team on his shoulders and led the Cavaliers to an impressive 99-94 victory over the Seattle Supersonics. Boozer led the LeBron-less Cavs with a monster 32 points and 20 rebound performance. It was Boozer's second consecutive 30 point effort and second consecutive huge double-double game. The Cavs were without their two leading scorers in LeBron James (ankle) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (suspension).

Kevin Ollie got the start in James' place and played some tight defense on Ray Allen, one of the game's premier offensive threats. Ollie had five points, five rebounds, three assists, and one turnover in 36 minutes of play. He held Allen to 20 points on 9-25 shooting, including a 1-7 3-point performance. Rashard Lewis led the Sonics with 27 points.

The Cavaliers outscored the Sonics 28-23 in the fourth quarter of a game which saw 23 ties and 20 lead changes. Each team never took a commanding lead in a game that saw the Sonics shoot 41 percent and the Cavs 34 percent from the floor.

But there were underlying numbers that stood out. The Sonics shot 26 3-pt. attempts, making nine of them. While the Cavs took 10 3-pt. attempts, making 3 of them. The Sonics were 11-16 from the free-throw line, while the Cavs attempted 42 free-throws and making 38 of them for 90 percent. Also, the Cavs once again dominated the boards with a 55-35 advantage, and a 24-10 offensive rebound effort.

Tony Battie stepped in for the suspended Ilgauskas and chipped in with a 17 pt. and 10 rebound performance. He also blocked three Sonic shots, while playing 40 minutes. DaJuan Wagner showed some signs of his old self scoring 14 points. Darius Miles woke up in time to score eight points and grab 7 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play. Two of his points came on a huge dunk off a Battie miss, which gave the Cavs a 93-91 edge with 1:24 to go. The Cavs wouldn't relinquish the lead as Ollie and Boozer finished the game off with free-throws.

The Cavs looked very upbeat and played an in-your-face defense for the most part. They showed a lot of heart despite losing their top two guys. Maybe the loss of Ilgauskas and James will help the Cavs improve team chemistry and their overall development.

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