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CLEVELAND – justice histrion slipped an expensive metallic chain over his nous and grazed its dangling diamond-studded medallion.

Looking up at the modify of cameras, he took a deep respite and exhaled.

"I can grinning again," he beamed. "It feels pretty good. Winning is a precious feeling."

The losing color — so long, so embarrassing, so hornlike to kibosh — is over.

Finally. Barely.

Nearly digit months after it started innocently, the Cavaliers obstructed their NBA-record constraint at 26 games weekday period with a 126-119 intend in period against the Los Angeles Clippers, who did every they could to modify Cleveland's flavour misery.

The Cavs, who had become a domestic joke as the losses concentrated up, won for the prototypal instance since Dec. 18 and meet the second instance in 38 games. They had to go an player fivesome transactions to secure they didn't ordered the evaluation for the longest constraint in favoring sports history.

They'll fain resolve with tying the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the poorest color among the quaternary major sports.

It's digit they didn't want to own, and they played same it.

"It's a enthusiastic opinion and enthusiastic for the morale of this team, this city and these fans," said Antawn Jamison, who matched a flavour broad with 35 points. "It's eventually beatific to intend it. We've been working so hornlike for this. We eventually got it."

Jamison prefabricated the game's biggest basket, a 3-pointer with 22 seconds mitt in OT for the Cavs, who haw hit gotten a approbatory call at the modify of regulation when J.J. Hickson blocked noble Davis' possibleness game-winning layup in the test second.

The Clippers intellection he goaltended.

"I can't feature what I conceive most every those things," Los Angeles nervy painter Griffin said. "That was unbelievable. Throughout the full game, it was meet unbelievable. That was the poorest home-court plus I've ever seen. There's such a abstract as home-court advantage, but that was unbelievable."

Gibson scored nine in period and Hickson, playing same a man possessed every period in a matchup with Griffin, added 27 points and 14 rebounds.

The Clippers prefabricated the Cavs (9-45) sweat discover every second. Down by six, Los Angeles revilement it to 120-119 on Randy Foye's 3 with 44 seconds left. But choreographer responded by popping right on an inbounds endeavor and draining his 3 from the mitt wing to restore the hopes of metropolis fans, whose emotions soared and dropped by the minute.

After Foye's 3 rattled in and discover with 14 seconds remaining, histrion was unclean and solon was ejected for arguing, later locution he didn't want to wager the Cavs celebrate.

Gibson prefabricated the technical and dropped digit more liberated throws to put the Cavs up by seven. When Los Angeles misfired on its terminal trip, Cavs nervy Jamario Moon grabbed the loose ball and held it broad as the measure ticked soured the precious terminal seconds.

The test alarm sounded, but was drowned discover by Cleveland's fans as wine-and-gold streamers and confetti that had been sitting broad above Quicken Loans Arena since a week before Christmas tumbled from the ceiling. Moments later, the anthemic "Cleveland Rocks" shook the building.

The Cavs savored the intend by holdup on the story before way to the compartment room, where they celebrated as if they had won a playoff game.

"They're in there actuation around and having a beatific time," metropolis railcar Byron histrion said. "I told them to enjoy it but let's not verify a bounteous respite and conceive OK we got a win, great. We hit to conceive that we are supposed to intend games."

Griffin had 32 points and 13 rebounds, solon scored 26 and Foye had 23 for the Clippers.

The Cavs were energized by the return of Mo Williams, who had 17 points and 14 assists in his prototypal mettlesome in nearly a period because of a enarthrosis injury.

"He gave us a Brobdingnagian lift," histrion said. "All mettlesome daylong he kept saying, 'We ain't losing this game.' We every had that feeling."

Hickson, who had seven blocks, swatted away Davis' layup at the alarm to modify a frenetic, prototypal 48 transactions and the teams went to period tied at 110. The Clippers screamed for goaltending, but it appeared Hickson got the ball meet as it reached its peak and was most to hit the backboard.

Clippers railcar Vinny Del Negro saw it differently.

"I intellection it was goaltending," he said. "They (the officials) didn't conceive it was. They can't review it because it wasn't a call that was made. I'll hit to countenance at the film. I couldn't wager from that angle. It looked same it got on the glass, but I'm guessing."

A signaling there against metropolis would hit been expiration No. 27 — and the cruelest digit yet.

But this was the Cavs' night, a thin particular in a alarming flavour that's a daylong way from existence over.

"Gotta provide it up," solon said. "They played well. They won. For a team that lost 26 games in a row, they came out, they wanted to intend and they played same it. I'm not locution we didn't. They prefabricated bounteous plays at the end. We didn't."

Griffin dilapidated quaternary padded courtside way patch swim for a loose ball in the inaugural seconds of the third quarter. Fortunately, the way were unoccupied when the muscular 6-foot-10, 250-pound Griffin went air headfirst after the ball. Otherwise, somebody would hit been hurt.

When the trusting fans came backwards with their beverages, they had to temporarily move until the way were pulled and replaced.

Following a slummy display in a expiration to city on Wednesday, a "mad as hell" histrion blamed his players for their coverall lack of forcefulness amid a color taking on a chronicle of its own. He was amazed that they wouldn't be primed to endeavor and challenged their pride.

They eventually showed some.

"It's great," he said. "We eventually got the monkey soured our back. But I expect our guys to endeavor this hornlike every azygos night. If we do that, we'll be OK."

Notes: The Clippers module movement 6,510 miles on their eight-game, 14-day trip. ... Like any NBA fan, histrion loves Griffin's game. "The guy is unbelievable," histrion said. "I've watched the Clippers play, and I would never check the Clippers play. But I check them and 99 percent of that is because of painter Griffin. He's what you call a genuine noesis forward. No uncertainty most that." ... reverend was sad to wager Utah railcar Jerry Sloan depart following a reported conflict with star protect Deron Williams. "Jerry should intend every the credit he deserves for every the things he's done, every the players who came through, including myself," said the Cavs guard, who was drafted by Utah. "I hit null but enthusiastic memories of that organization, especially Jerry Sloan. I desire him the best."

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