ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -Mo Williams’ Game 4 guarantee blew up like his swollen left eye.
Starting fast and fading late, Williams had 18 points, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 116-114 Tuesday night to the Orlando Magic to go down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Cleveland’s only other All-Star provided little help late to LeBron James when it counted most. He deferred to the league MVP and clanked the few jumpers he took. Williams finished with five rebounds, two assists and one false proclamation.
“Guarantee we’re going to win the series? Yeah, yeah,” Williams said Monday.
Whoops.
His eye still swollen and stitches concealing the wound from the elbow he took in Game 3 from Orlando’s Anthony Johnson, Williams had 12 points in the first half and then pretty much disappeared.
ing on free throws. Williams attempted only two shots after the third period.
It has been a rough series for Williams.
In the second quarter of Game 3, Johnson drove the lane and extended his elbow, knocking Williams to the floor bleeding. Williams was called for a blocking foul, and Johnson was whistled for a flagrant one foul after officials huddled. The flagrant, which Williams said was “most definitely” a cheap shot, was rescinded earlier Tuesday by the league.
His statistics are almost as painful.
Williams is 23 for 71 in the series and has been hardly as efficient as he was in the regular season, when he averaged a career-high 17.8 points. Game 5 is Thursday night in Cleveland, and now the Cavs must do what only eight teams in NBA history ever have: come back from a 3-1 hole.
The time for guarantees is almost up.
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