"Leon Powe has seen quite a bit in his first four years in the league, but he's never seen anything like the rigorous two-hour practice Byron Scott put the Cavaliers through Thursday morning, only hours before they were supposed to face the Washington Wizards. So it's not much of a shock that the Cavaliers turned the ball over 26 times and shot 35 percent from the floor in losing to the Wizards 97-83. No one wanted to come out and admit it, but the players were still recovering from practice when they showed up at Quicken Loans Arena for the game. ''I've never practiced before a game,'' Powe said. ''But I know Coach Scott has his way of doing things. He's been on some good teams and coached some good teams. We believe in him.'' Thursday was the Cavaliers' 10th consecutive day of practice. Scott said all along he wanted to get through the first couple of preseason games before slowing down and he kept his word. Now he's finally giving the players a break. The veterans will take Friday off, but the young guys still have to come in and get some shots up. ''Guys were a little tired tonight and that showed in the second half,'' Scott said. ''Fatigue is not an excuse that we'll be using, but I can definitely see the guys were tired. When you get tired, suddenly oxygen doesn't go to the brain very well and you don't think a whole lot out there.'' Guards Daniel Gibson, Ramon Sessions and Anthony Parker combined to shoot 9-of-31 from the floor — which could be an indicator they didn't have their legs. J.J. Hickson had 16 points, Sessions had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Gibson had 10 points. But the 26 turnovers led to 27 points for the Wizards, who improved to 2-0 during the preseason. Anderson Varejao rejoined the team after missing the first nine days of camp to attend his grandfather's funeral in Brazil. Varejao did not play and isn't expected to play during the Cavs' swing through Texas on Sunday and Monday. That means the first time he could play would be next Thursday, when the Cavaliers face the San Antonio Spurs in Pittsburgh." Read more: http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/104543814.html
