Wearing bright yellow shoes that looked like big bananas, Hickson played his best game in weeks to help the Cavaliers outlast Memphis.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Byron Scott loved every single thing about J.J. Hickson on Saturday night. Except one.
"Those were probably the ugliest shoes I've seen in a long time," Scott said.
Wearing bright yellow shoes that looked like big bananas, Hickson played his best game in weeks to help the Cavaliers outlast the Memphis Grizzlies, 92-86, before a sellout crowd at The Q on Saturday night.
Mo Williams led the Cavs with 25 points and 12 assists, and he and Hickson teamed down the stretch to boost the team's record to 7-9.
"He played exactly the way we wanted him to play -- all-out effort, getting up and down the floor," Scott said of Hickson. "We tell all our bigs, the first big down we call it rim-running. He was doing that and getting himself available."
As a result, Hickson earned meaningful minutes down the stretch for the first time in weeks. He finished with 16 points and five rebounds. It was the first time he scored in double figures since Nov. 13 against Indiana, when he had 12 points.
Before the game, Scott admitted he was worried about Hickson and wanted to try to get him going. As it turned out, Hickson was the one who got himself going.
"I think the last five or six games, I haven't been playing in the fourth quarter, or when I did, it was the last minute or two or three minutes," Hickson said. "I think I did a good job defensively tonight and it got me some fourth-quarter minutes. I know what I need to do as a basketball player to stay in the game. So it's just a matter of me applying myself and going and doing it to earn more minutes."
Williams was on fire in the third quarter, when he scored 12 points, including two 3-pointers, as the Cavs outscored the Grizzlies, 30-16. Cleveland's defense limited Memphis to 35 percent shooting (7-of-20) and forced five turnovers.
But with Williams taking his normal rest at the start of the fourth quarter, the Cavs missed their first seven shots and had two turnovers as Memphis closed to within 76-75. In all, they missed their first 13 shots of the fourth quarter and fell behind, 80-77.
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Clik here to view.Two free throws by Antawn Jamison and one by Williams tied the score at 80. Then Hickson ripped a defensive rebound away from Zach Randolph and ran the floor for a layup that put Cleveland in front, 82-80. It was the Cavs' first field goal of the fourth quarter -- at 3:04.
O.J. Mayo stepped back for a jumper that tied the score. Williams missed a 20-footer, but Hickson blocked Randolph, grabbed the rebound and ran the floor again for another layup and was fouled by Randolph. He missed the free throw, and a jumper by former Ohio State star Mike Conley tied the score again at 84 with 1:34 left.
Williams hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game and Hickson followed with yet another layup to give the Cavs an 89-84 lead with 39.9 seconds remaining.
"I feel great," Hickson said, who returned to the inside game that made him a force at the start of the season. "I've been working on my jumper, but I know what my bread-and-butter is. I got away from that and settled for jump shots. It's just a matter of mixing it up and taking what the defense gives me."
And those shoes? Sorry, coach, but they're here to stay."I was going to save 'em for the Miami game, but I had to see what they felt like," Hickson said, smiling. "They felt great. We got a win, so I'm not going to stop wearing them."