CLEVELAND _ If the NBA had flexible scheduling, the Cavaliers would be banned from nationally televised games until they can put together a team that cares on a nightly basis.
Suffering a blowout 120-88 loss to the Houston Rockets Saturday night, the Cavs dropped their eighth consecutive contest shown by ABC, ESPN or TNT this season, six of those in January.
This time fans in Quicken Loans Arena voiced their displeasure, booing the Cavs off the court at halftime as they trailed by 26 and LeBron James went scoreless in the second quarter. The lead stretched to 35 before Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni pulled his starters, and even then the visitors kept up the assault.
The Cavs went 6-8 last month, then followed it up with the second-worst loss of the season, trailing only a 34-point setback at Toronto. Their post-Christmas swoon now stands at 6-12.
The Rockets burned the Cavs from long range, hitting 19 3-pointers, which tied the Cavs franchise record for 3s made by an opponent. The Rockets' 51 attempts broke the previous mark by a Cavs' foe.
The Rockets improved to 11-2 in their last 13 games.
With the trade deadline looming on Thursday, perhaps James was making a statement that the current roster isn't equipped to reach the franchise's fourth consecutive Finals. But the four-time league MVP sets the tone for the Cavs, and his lack of effort seemed to infect his teammates.
James totaled 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in 31 minutes, but made 3 of 10 shots from the field. He sat out the entire fourth quarter.
During a timeout at the 2:55 mark in the first quarter, James ran the huddle and had a discussion with assistant Mike Longabardi, who handles the defense. During another timeout with 5:39 left in the third period, the Cavs didn't even huddle as James sat on the scorers table, Jae Crowder beside him.
Not only is it worrisome for Cavs coach Tyronn Lue that the Cavs (30-21) stand third in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, they show no sign that they could beat either if the postseason began today. The Cavs slipped to 0-7 against the top five teams in the West; they had lost the previous six by an average of 14.2 points.
At one point in the first half, Rockets guard Chris Paul had totaled as many points (12) as the Cavs' starting lineup. Paul, one of James' closest friends, led the Rockets with 22 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, hitting 8 of 14 shots, including 6 of 9 from deep. Ryan Anderson contributed 21 points, making 7 of 13 and 5 of 9.
Lue tried all kinds of rotations, starting the second half with four guards _ Derrick Rose, Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade and Kyle Korver _ along with forward Jeff Green. Lue finished the first quarter with James, Korver, Wade, Channing Frye and J.R. Smith.
Even with James Harden in foul trouble, picking up his second with 3:02 left in the first quarter, it made no difference. The Rockets outscored the Cavs 26-13 with Harden on the bench until he re-entered in the second quarter.
The Cavs, meanwhile, were woeful to a man. Thomas continued to struggle in his comeback from a torn labrum in his right hip, making 5 of 13 from the field, including 0 for 4 from beyond the arc.
But Thomas had company besides James. Smith connected on just 4 of 12 (3-of-9 on 3-pointers), Korver went 1 for 5 (1 for 4) and Rose 3 of 11 (1 of 4).
Harden appeared to injure his right ankle with 5:39 left in the third quarter when Thomas got underneath him, but Harden later returned.
The Cavs seemingly did a decent job defending Harden, who came in 27 points shy of 15,000 for his career and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and nine assists in 31 minutes. He made 5 of 16 field goals, including 1 of 11 from long range, before departing with 5:24 left.
In their last meeting, a Rockets' 117-113 victory at home on Nov. 9 when Houston was without Paul, Harden finished with a triple-double of 35 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
In the previous six games, James averaged 23.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists, shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from long range along with 5.3 turnovers.
Asked what he needed to do to improve, James said Friday, "Just play better, that's all. I haven't had a great couple weeks, but the couple weeks I've had would put guys in the All-Star Game."
When it was suggested that his numbers aren't characteristic of his career, James agreed but said, "I'll be all right. I'm used to it. ... It's the life I live in. I'll give you better numbers. I promise you."
