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12/23/05
12/23/05
Cavs take Bulls by horns
Friday, December 23, 2005
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer[/FONT]
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AP Jeff Roberson LeBron James (left), here making a pass around Chicago Bulls defender Tyson Chandler, had 37 points and six assists Thursday during Cleveland’s 108-100 victory.
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CHICAGO - LeBron James burst up the right side late in the third quarter, went up for a dunk and ... Clang! It hit off the rim.
It was the lone blemish for James as he scored 37 points Thursday night to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 108-100 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
“I should have never missed that one,” he said.
Moments later, a similar scenario unfolded. Only this time, James finished the dunk.
Then Damon Jones helped finish off the Bulls, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers won their fourth straight.
James, the NBA’s third-leading scorer, was 12-for-25 from the floor — including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 25 points, including 11-of-11 from the foul line, and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Jones capped the decisive 15-0 run in the fourth quarter with three 3s and finished with 15 points — while shooting 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
“He made big shots,” James said. “I’m happy he’s on our side now.”
Larry Hughes started and scored 9 points for Cleveland after missing Wednesday’s practice to tend to his ailing brother in St. Louis — who had a heart transplant 10 years ago.
After two free throws by Eric Snow, a steal and layup by James and a basket by Ilgauskas cut the Bulls’ lead to 81-80, Jones went to work.
His 3-pointer with 8:17 left put the Cavaliers ahead, and he hit another to make it a five-point game. Chicago’s Chris Duhon then threw a bad pass, which led to another 3 by Jones that made it 89-81 with 7:05 left in the game.
As important as those 3s were, the four steals the Cavaliers got during that run.
“It was just about getting defensive stops,” James said. “We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we wanted to in the third quarter. We made a few subs, we got defensive stops and hit big buckets.”
Cleveland outscored Chicago, 37-21, in the fourth.
“We have to be able to make adjustments during the game,” said Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, who had 8 points and seven assists. “When things aren’t going as well as we would like them to, we (need) to come together as a group and start competing harder — that’s when you should start fighting harder.”
Ben Gordon scored 22 points to lead the Bulls, and Andres Nocioni had a season-high 21 — including 11 in the third quarter.
However, the Bulls couldn’t stop the Cavaliers from penetrating.
Cleveland was 33-of-41 on free throws, while the Bulls were 8-for-10.
“I think we played our game, got inside,” Gordon said. “Some calls didn’t go our way.”
Second to Detroit in 3-point shooting, the Bulls (12-13) hit just 8-of-21 against a Cleveland team that had allowed opponents to shoot a league-high 40.2 percent from beyond the arc.
After sitting out Tuesday’s 105-92 loss at home to Charlotte with a right knee contusion, Luol Deng found himself matched against James. The thinking was the lanky, 6-foot-9 Deng could distract James on the perimeter and play a step closer to the rim, making it tougher for James to penetrate.
James blew by Deng for a two-handed dunk and hit a 3 over Tyson Chandler during a 14-point first quarter. James had 23 points by halftime.
With James on the sideline in the second quarter, the Bulls outscored the Cavaliers 15-7 during a 4:09 stretch to take the lead.
Ilgauskas lost the ball in the post, Hinrich broke upcourt for a layup that increased the lead to 46-43, and Cleveland called time with 5:09 left in the half. James checked in, but the Bulls’ run continued.
Gordon hit a 3 from the corner, and Darius Songaila added a jumper to make it 51-43. But the Cavaliers outscored the Bulls 14-2 the rest of the half, starting with James’ one-handed dunk and ending with his 3 from the top over Deng.
“LeBron is the catalyst of what we do and once he has it going, teams have to adjust defensively,” Jones said. “You put two on him, that means somebody else is open. He’s doing a great job of finding his teammates and making plays.”
Pacers at Cavs
8 tonight
Qucken Loans Arena
TV FSN Ohio, ESPN2 Radio WAKR-AM 1590, WTAM-AM 1100, WJER-AM 1450
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