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LeBron leads Cavs to division crown
Source: Agencies |
March 19, 2010, Friday
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THE Cleveland Cavaliers captured their second consecutive Central Division title on Wednesday by beating the Indiana Pacers 99-94.
LeBron James had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland which became the first team to clinch its division this National Basketball Association season.
It was the third division title in franchise history for Cleveland which has 54 wins and just 15 losses.
"Any time you can put a banner up for this franchise, it's great," James said. "It's a great tribute to the fans, this organization, the players and the coaching staff and everyone around it. It's big."
Elsewhere, it was: Magic 110, Spurs 84; Mavericks 113, Bulls 106; Bobcats 100, Thunder 92; Rockets 107, Grizzlies 94; Celtics 109, Knicks 97; Jazz 122, Timberwolves 100; Raptors 106, Hawks 105; Warriors 131, Hornets 121; 76ers 108, Nets 97; and Clippers 101, Bucks 93.
In Cleveland, James had six points, two blocks, two steals and an assist in the final four minutes of the game.
James is also three points short of 15,000 for his career. He just missed out on his second triple-double in two nights.
Troy Murphy had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Roy Hibbert had 20 points for the Pacers, who were missing top scorer Danny Granger.
Granger suffered a cheek injury after being elbowed in a game on Tuesday.
Indiana trailed by 16 points heading to the final quarter before mounting a comeback.
In Orlando, Florida, San Antonio's Tim Duncan had a night to forget as the Spurs slumped to a big loss to the Magic.
Duncan, a 12-time All Star and three-time NBA finals MVP, finished with five points and was 1-for-10 from the field, the worst shooting performance of his career.
"Just a bad game, mostly myself," Duncan said.
"It kind of starts with me. We got caught in a rotation early and missed some shots, but I just didn't play well."
After the Charlotte Bobcats snapped Orlando's eight-game win streak on Sunday, the Magic responded with an impressive performance against the Spurs.
Vince Carter had a game-high 24 points, with eight assists, and Rashard Lewis scored 20 as the Magic opened up a big lead in the third quarter and were able to rest their starters for much of the fourth.
"It's not about who makes the most points, it's who has the open shot gets the ball," Carter said.
"I think we've done a great job of exploiting different situations throughout the course of the game. We knew Dwight (Howard) probably wouldn't have a great night scoring, but it was important for us to give him the ball to draw those double teams."
The Magic (48-21) led by 10 at halftime and outscored San Antonio 28-16 in the third to put the game out of reach. Orlando's scoring leader Howard ended with nine points.
Richard Jefferson had 20 points for the Spurs (40-26), who entered the game having won eight of their last nine.
The defeat dropped the Spurs one spot to seventh in the Western Conference, a game behind the Phoenix Suns. All-Star point guard Tony Parker is still out with a broken finger but the team has managed to go 4-2 without him.
The Magic are in second place in the East, six games behind Cleveland.
LeBron James had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland which became the first team to clinch its division this National Basketball Association season.
It was the third division title in franchise history for Cleveland which has 54 wins and just 15 losses.
"Any time you can put a banner up for this franchise, it's great," James said. "It's a great tribute to the fans, this organization, the players and the coaching staff and everyone around it. It's big."
Elsewhere, it was: Magic 110, Spurs 84; Mavericks 113, Bulls 106; Bobcats 100, Thunder 92; Rockets 107, Grizzlies 94; Celtics 109, Knicks 97; Jazz 122, Timberwolves 100; Raptors 106, Hawks 105; Warriors 131, Hornets 121; 76ers 108, Nets 97; and Clippers 101, Bucks 93.
In Cleveland, James had six points, two blocks, two steals and an assist in the final four minutes of the game.
James is also three points short of 15,000 for his career. He just missed out on his second triple-double in two nights.
Troy Murphy had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Roy Hibbert had 20 points for the Pacers, who were missing top scorer Danny Granger.
Granger suffered a cheek injury after being elbowed in a game on Tuesday.
Indiana trailed by 16 points heading to the final quarter before mounting a comeback.
In Orlando, Florida, San Antonio's Tim Duncan had a night to forget as the Spurs slumped to a big loss to the Magic.
Duncan, a 12-time All Star and three-time NBA finals MVP, finished with five points and was 1-for-10 from the field, the worst shooting performance of his career.
"Just a bad game, mostly myself," Duncan said.
"It kind of starts with me. We got caught in a rotation early and missed some shots, but I just didn't play well."
After the Charlotte Bobcats snapped Orlando's eight-game win streak on Sunday, the Magic responded with an impressive performance against the Spurs.
Vince Carter had a game-high 24 points, with eight assists, and Rashard Lewis scored 20 as the Magic opened up a big lead in the third quarter and were able to rest their starters for much of the fourth.
"It's not about who makes the most points, it's who has the open shot gets the ball," Carter said.
"I think we've done a great job of exploiting different situations throughout the course of the game. We knew Dwight (Howard) probably wouldn't have a great night scoring, but it was important for us to give him the ball to draw those double teams."
The Magic (48-21) led by 10 at halftime and outscored San Antonio 28-16 in the third to put the game out of reach. Orlando's scoring leader Howard ended with nine points.
Richard Jefferson had 20 points for the Spurs (40-26), who entered the game having won eight of their last nine.
The defeat dropped the Spurs one spot to seventh in the Western Conference, a game behind the Phoenix Suns. All-Star point guard Tony Parker is still out with a broken finger but the team has managed to go 4-2 without him.
The Magic are in second place in the East, six games behind Cleveland.
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