Clippers Blow 19-Point Lead, Lose to Cavaliers

For the majority of the Clippers' Tuesday night game against the Cavaliers, it appeared that L.A. was the team with the much better record. They controlled things from the start, and had a huge 17-point lead after three quarters. But Cleveland woke up just in time, and outscored L.A. by 21 in the fourth to get the win by a final score of 87-83.

The Clippers finally got a glimpse of what their team might look like when everyone's available to play and not sidelined with various injuries. Chris Kaman returned to the starting lineup, after missing 48 games with a left foot injury. Marcus Camby came off the bench, after missing time off and on all season, most recently with migraines that stemmed from an inner ear infection.

L.A. used their 30th different starting lineup of the season, and it featured Kaman starting alongside Zach Randolph for only the second time ever, along with Al Thornton, Baron Davis, and Eric Gordon. That's a very solid team when all are healthy and at full strength, and the Clippers played like it for a while. But Dunleavy admitted afterwards he might have tried to squeeze a little too much out of some guys that weren't all the way back in terms of being in game shape.

"I probably played the guys who were out due to injury a little too much, and it showed that they were unconditioned," coach Mike Dunleavy said. "It is disappointing to play as well as we did in the first three quarters and not finish the game strong."

Disappointing, maybe. But the Cavs are at the top of the Eastern Conference for a reason, and that's because they beat the teams they're supposed to beat -- even after spotting them 19 points in the fourth quarter before doing so.

LeBron James finished with a triple double line of 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, and Mo Williams hit a clutch three-pointer with just over six seconds left to give Cleveland the lead for good. In what has been typical of the Clippers' last second possessions in the Dunleavy era, they got off an absolutely atrocious shot to try to take the lead: a 30-foot three-point attempt from Zach Randolph with four seconds left that wasn't even close.

Randolph led the Clippers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Al Thornton finished with 20 and nine. Chris Kaman had six points and four rebounds in 30 minutes of action, but was understandably a bit rusty and hit on just three of his 11 shot attempts from the field.

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