Home » Sports » Basketball
James returns in Cavs’ win over Pacers
Print Edition
A LITTLE rest did LeBron James a world of good, as the Cleveland star came back from a night off to score 33 points in the Cavaliers’ 100-96 NBA victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
James, who sat out a blowout loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday, added five rebounds and four assists and Tristan Thompson came off the bench to score a big basket and make a key block in the final minute to help the Eastern Conference-leading Cavs snap a two-game skid.
“I think we showed some mental toughness tonight,” said James, who posted his highest points-total of 13 games in February. “So many lead changes, so many ties. They grabbed the momentum late in the fourth and we were able to keep our composure, get some stops, make some shots and win the ballgame.”
Indiana’s Paul George had appeared to tie the game at 89-89 with a three-pointer with 4:46 to play, but a review at the next timeout showed he didn’t beat the shot clock. That left the Pacers with a one-point lead with 2:27 to play, and James scored off an inbounds play to put the Cavaliers ahead.
“That was a game changer right there,” Cleveland’s Kevin Love said. “That was a huge difference for us.”
Thompson was huge as well. Pulled from the starting lineup before the game in favor of Timofey Mozgov, he came in for Love in the final minute and scored a go-ahead basket off a James drive with 39 seconds left, giving Cleveland a 96-94 lead. Seconds later he rejected George Hill’s driving effort at the rim. Guard Kyrie Irving scored 22 points with six assists for the Cavaliers.
The Wizards followed up their win over the Eastern Conference leaders by rallying to beat stragglers Philadelphia 116-108.
John Wall scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, including eight points in a 16-0 scoring run that put the Wizards up 102-93 with less than six minutes to play.
In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second triple-double in a week and Jabari Parker scored a career-high 36 points as the Bucks snapped a two-game losing streak with a 128-121 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Greece’s Antetokounmpo finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists — the last two setting up three-pointers by Jerryd Bayless — to help the Bucks secure the win.
Center Dwight Howard led the Rockets with 30 points, with James Harden adding 26 and Trevor Ariza chipping in 20. Harden’s long three-pointer sent the game into the fourth quarter tied at 92-92.
The Bucks built a 125-112 lead before the Rockets forced a spate of turnovers and closed within 125-121. But the Rockets would get no closer, dropping their second decision in a row. They are eighth in the Western Conference.
The Jazz fell 100-95 to the Celtics in Boston, Thunder beat Kings 131-116;
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
