Cleveland Cavaliers hand deliver message to the Boston Celtics

January 10, 3:45 AMCleveland Sports ExaminerRadames Santiago, Jr.

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   LeBron James shoots over Paul Pierce last night at the Q 

Before the Cavaliers took the court to battle the Boston Celtics last night at Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James had one simple statement, "It's not just a January game."

James then proceeded to score 38 points as the Cavs controlled the entire game on the way to a message-sending 98-83 victory that was not only delivered to the Celtics, but to the rest of the NBA.

The last two days many of the Cavs constantly said they were going to prepare for the Celtics like all of the rest of the teams in the NBA.  Their preparation might have been the same, but their intensity level was raised a few notches as soon as the game started.

The Cavs shot a white-hot 72 percent from the field to take a 33-23 lead after the first quarter.  With a nine point lead to start the third quarter, the Cavs seemed a little sluggish on offense and the Celtics closed the deficit to 52-49.  That's when the "L Train," which is televsion color commentator Austin Carr's favorite nickname for James, blocked the offensive track for Paul Pierce. 

Paul Pierce looked like he was going to get into a rhythm, but James started to blanket Pierce's every move.  With James in his hip pocket, Pierce was held to only 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting and only went to the free throw line twice on the night.

Although the Celtics came into the game having lost six of their last eight games, the Cavaliers sent a message that will resound even louder when the playoffs begin.

The Cavaliers are every bit as talented as the Celtics, with two very important exceptions- the Cavs are younger and their bench is more talented, productive, and athletic.

As the playoffs get closer, the Celtics will realize that the writing may be on the wall that their reign as NBA champions might be coming to an end.

They received the first part of the message last night.

Make sure to read the Cavaliers' examiner, Matt Loede's recap of the game.