Anderson Varejao had a stellar night in the Cavs' last visit to Philadelphia, going 10-for-10 from the field for 23 points.
View full sizeJodie Meeks (20) has provided a lift to the 76ers' lineup since replacing rookie Evan Turner in the starting lineup.PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- In his last visit to the Wells Fargo Center, Anderson Varejao went 10-for-10 from the field and had 23 points and 12 rebounds in the Cavaliers' 123-116 victory on Nov. 5.
"A lot of things have happened," Varejao said with a smile before Tuesday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. "It's just another game that we want to win."
The Cavs entered Tuesday dragging a four-game losing streak that included blowout losses to Boston, Miami and at Minnesota, so a similar performance by Varejao -- or anything even close -- would have been a welcome boost.
He wasn't promising anything, though.
"When you go 10-for-10 like that, not just doing one thing but making jump shots and layups and dunks, that doesn't happen every day," he said before tipoff. "But the most important thing is to get the win. We need as many as we can get."
Coach Byron Scott said the offense didn't really focus on Varejao that night. He just took advantage of what the Sixers gave him.
"He was just aggressive," Scott said. "When he had shots, he took them. We had just talked about him taking his shots. So hopefully he'll have some of those same looks and he'll remember how well he played here last time and he'll get those same opportunities."
New look: Since the Cavs' first two victories over the Sixers, coach Doug Collins has replaced rookie Evan Turner in the starting lineup, with Jodie Meeks joining Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes, Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday. Philadelphia has won three of its last four games.
"They still want to get up and down," Scott said. "They still want to get in the open court -- very good transition team. Defensively they still try to create turnovers so they can get out in the open court.
"Meeks can flat-out shoot the ball. You've got to get to him, make him put it on the floor. Andre, we know what Andre is, a great all-around basketball player. The other guys are living off each other.
"They're having a lot of confidence in what they're doing right now and probably are looking at us and saying, 'We can't allow this team to sweep the series.'"
No comment: Scott shrugged off the news that the NBA is taking over ownership of the New Orleans franchise, where Scott coached from 2004-2009.
"No reaction whatsoever," he said. "I also saw they might be moving to Kansas City, too. Whatever David Stern decides to do. If he feels it's best for the league, then it's best for the league."