It's fun to watch Ramon Sessions because he plays so much like Mo Williams. It's no coincidence.
UPDATED: 11:13 p.m.
Forward Joey Graham (12) was among the five Cavaliers who played the final seven minutes Sunday and helped seal the Cavaliers' victory. Graham scored three points with three rebounds and an assist in 17 minutes of action.HOUSTON, Texas -- It's fun to watch Ramon Sessions because he plays so much like Mo Williams. It's no coincidence. The two are best friends after Williams took Sessions under his wing when the two were with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Sessions has the same little running floater that Williams has and the same sort of energy running the offense. It must be killing Williams to watch as he recovers from a groin injury that has prevented him from taking part in most of training camp.
New coach Byron Scott thinks Williams will have no problem picking up the new Princeton offense when he returns, but in the meantime his former pupil is doing a great job running the show. The team seems to be getting more comfortable with him and the offense every day.
The same is true for Daniel Gibson, who finished Sunday's game on the floor with newcomers Joey Graham, Manny Harris, Christian Eyenga and Samardo Samuels. When Scott went to that combination with about seven minutes left, it looked as if he was willing to concede a victory in order to gain some insight into some of his bench players. But that group actually broke the game open.
The biggest surprise? Two 3-pointers from Eyenga, who's much more likely to slam it than shoot it.
In-game blog
The Cavaliers defeated the Houston Rockets, 99-93, in Toyota Center on Sunday night.
Cavs improved to 2-1 in the preseason with a much better effort than in Thursday's home loss to Washington. Rockets are 2-2 and heading to China for a pair of exhibition games.
J.J. Hickson finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Ramon Sessions had 15 points and did a great job directing the offense. He's filling in for the injured Mo Williams, but his game will remind a lot of people of Williams' -- especially that running floater.
That should come as no surprise. The two are best friends and Williams tutored Sessions in Milwaukee.
Third quarter update: Rockets 72, Cavs 67. But there are signs the Cavs are starting to get Byron Scott's offense. Jawad Williams, Ramon Sessions and Anthony Parker ran some beautiful breaks. Williams is going to have to pick up his defense, though, as Chase Budinger had 11 points in the period.
Halftime update: Cavs, 47, Rockets 45. J.J. Hickson has 16 points and 8 rebounds and has livened things up considerably. Cavs are outshooting Rockets, 47.5 percent to 43.9 percent and outrebounding them, 24-16. But each team has 26 points in the paint, which probably isn't the kind of post defense Byron Scott is looking for.
First quarter update: Houston 23, Cavs 19. With Cavs missing likely starters Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao and the Rockets resting Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Shane Battier, the first quarter featured lots of backups looking to earn more minutes. Not sure any of them did that.
Lineup changes: Houston coach Rick Adelman decides to start forwards Chase Budinger and Jared Jeffries instead.
Cavs starters: F Antawn Jamison and Jawad Williams, C J. J. Hickson, G Ramon Sessions and Anthony Parker
Rockets starters: F Shane Battier and Luis Scola, C Jordan Hill, G Kevin martin and Aaron Brooks.
Officials: David Jone, Marat Kogut, Leroy Richardson
Three things to watch
1. Cavs have been working on low-post defense, which might be easier not having to deal with Yao Ming, who is being brought back slowly after foot surgery last season.
2. Coach Byron Scott still experimenting with starting lineup, trying to find the right small forward.
3. How much will fatigue be a factor for Rockets, who beat Pacers here last night and will fly to China after the game?