There's no place like home for Charles Oakley, especially when the 17-year pro can play in front of friends and family at Gund Arena like he did last night.

"It's rare when you get the chance to be on your home turf on your birthday during an 82-game schedule," said the Chicago Bulls forward. "But at this time in my career, I enjoy anywhere I go. I've got friends here, but a lot have moved out of the area."

Oakley celebrated his 38th birthday a day early by having some of his teammates join him for dinner at his mother's home on Monday night.

His special day didn't go well on the court, though, as he was 0-for-2 from the field and didn't score a point in the Cavs' 102-84 victory.

Overcoming:

Second-year player Chris Mihm entered last night's game struggling with his shooting, going 10-of-37 from the field in the past 112 minutes, but assistant coach Jerry Eaves said it's not a big deal.

"You see this all the time from the younger guys," Eaves said. "This is just a growing process and something like this is expected. Young guys will have stretches like this, but I also expect him to have stretches of making 20-of-25 from the field, too."

Mihm was 4-of-7 last night and had nine points.

Video wizard:

Rookie center DeSagana Diop may not get much time on the court for the Cavs, but he's the star of the show when it comes to NBA Live 2002 for Playstation 2.

"When I play with the Cavs on Playstation, I'm always the player of the game," Diop said. "I'm not a starter but I put myself in the game right away. I'm in there dunking, shooting and doing crossover dribbles. I get more minutes in that way."

Boston bound:

Cavs guard Bryant Stith was a member of the Celtics last season and is looking forward to his return to Boston tonight.

"It'll give me a chance to visit with some old friends," Stith said. "Antoine [Walker] and Paul [Pierce] are really playing well. Boston's one of the better teams in the East. It'll be a challenge for us."

By the numbers:

A second look at Andre Miller's numbers against the Sixers last week remains impressive.

Miller, coming off a shoulder injury, finished with a career-high 22 assists and a Gund Arena record of nine steals. He also set an arena record with 12 assists in a half.

Miller said he wasn't overwhelmed by his numbers, nor was he surprised at coach John Lucas' comment about always expecting this out of his point guard.

"Coach will always say he expects more," Miller said. "That's cool, because I'm trying to get better with each game."