Sports

NBA

James leads Cavaliers as they pay back Magic

By wire services
Published February 6, 2005

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CLEVELAND - Before leaving the court, LeBron James grabbed a microphone and politely asked the sellout crowd in Gund Arena to wish his mother a happy birthday.

A few moments earlier, he helped blow out the Magic's candles.

James had 30 points and nine assists and Zydrunas Ilgauskas made two big baskets in the final 1:43 as the Cavaliers began an important stretch at home with a 101-92 victory over Orlando on Saturday night.

James had 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in the second half to help the Cavaliers avenge a three-point loss Tuesday night in Orlando. Cleveland, which plays its next four games at Gund Arena, improved to 17-4 at home.

"This was huge," James said. "We're on a pace to win 50-some games, our goal is to get to 30 before the All-Star break."

James made 12 of 13 free throws, missing his only attempt with 23 seconds left and the game decided. He came in just 19-for-29 in his previous three games from the line.

After trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, Orlando closed to 92-89 on rookie Dwight Howard's free throw with 2:06 left. But Ilgauskas, playing with five fouls, tipped in his own miss, and after Sasha Pavlovic stole the ball from Grant Hill, Ilgauskas dropped a 6-foot fadeaway to make it 96-89 with 1:06 remaining.

"Ilgauskas is tough," said Orlando's Tony Battie, who played with Cleveland last season. "It's only a matter of time that he gets his, and he came up big at the end."

Drew Gooden added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff McInnis had 17 points as the Cavs averted their second three-game losing streak this season.

Nets beat up champs

The New Jersey Nets looked at their matinee against Detroit as a measuring stick game, and Vince Carter made sure they stood tall against the defending NBA champions. Carter scored 41 points and led a second-half surge in a 107-85 victory that snapped the visiting Pistons' five-game winning streak.

Carter scored 20 during a 29-9 run bridging the third and fourth quarters that turned a 63-61 edge into a 92-70 lead.

Jason Kidd added 12 points and 14 assists, surpassing Kenny Anderson as the franchise leader in career assists with 2,364. Kidd also surpassed Bob Cousy (6,955) for 12th on the NBA's all-time assists list.

Tayshaun Prince had 17 points and Antonio McDyess 15 for the Pistons.

WIZARDS 112, BUCKS 94: A night after watching his team blow a big lead after he was ejected, Gilbert Arenas had 31 points, nine assists and six rebounds to help Washington snap a four-game losing streak.

On Friday night in Toronto, the Wizards blew a 22-point lead in a 103-100 loss. They had a 15-point lead late in the third quarter when Arenas was ejected.

Etan Thomas scored 16 of his career-high 23 points in the second half for the Wizards. Michael Redd had 26 points for Milwaukee.

PACERS 84, HAWKS 79: Jermaine O'Neal scored 38 points to lead Indiana to its second straight victory after a six-game losing streak.

O'Neal capped his night with two clinching free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining.

Anthony Johnson's putback with 5:19 remaining capped a 24-9 run for Indiana, which beat Dallas 95-94 at home Friday night to end its longest losing streak in two years.

Antoine Walker and Al Harrington each scored 26 points for the Hawks.

HEAT 108, BULLS 97: Shaquille O'Neal had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade scored 25 points to lead Miami to its fifth victory in six games.

Reserve Michael Doleac added a season-high 16 points.

Ben Gordon led Chicago with 25 points, and Luol Deng added 18.

SUNS 114, KNICKS 106: Amare Stoudemire had 32 points and 15 rebounds, and Steve Nash added 26 points and 14 assists, as Phoenix beat travel-weary New York.

The victory was the seventh in eight games for the Suns and gave them their first season sweep over the Knicks since 1994-95.

Shawn Marion contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds to help the Suns improve to 8-0 against Atlantic Division teams. Reserve Jim Jackson added 11 points.

The Knicks, who have tumbled from first to last in the Atlantic Division in the past month and are 2-7 since Herb Williams replaced Lenny Wilkens as coach, have lost 12 of their last 13.

NUGGETS 107, WARRIORS 91: Kenyon Martin had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Denver limited Jason Richardson to 13 points in the Nuggets' 107-91 victory over Golden State. Carmelo Anthony added 18 points to help the Nuggets improve to 4-1 under new coach George Karl.

JAZZ 108, HORNETS 92: Carlos Boozer scored 18 points, and Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring each had 17 to help Utah snap a three-game losing streak with a 108-92 victory over New Orleans. Utah led by as many as 28 points after blowing the game open in the third quarter.

Bostjan Nachbar led the Hornets with a career-high 21 points.

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 00:23:11]

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