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December 31, 2009

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Stingy Cavs defense keeps away the Hawks

Source: Agencies | December 31, 2009, Thursday | Print Edition

THE Cleveland Cavaliers used stingy defense and a fourth quarter burst to beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-84 on Tuesday and post their fifth straight win.

Mo Williams shot a team-high 20 points and LeBron James 14 with 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who scored 10 unanswered points early in the fourth quarter and then choked the Hawks offense to coast to victory.

"That's what we do. We lock down in the fourth quarter," James told reporters after recording five steals.

"That's where games are decided. It was a complete team effort."

Jamal Crawford scored 26 points off the bench, but the Hawks (21-9) were confined to just 10 in the final quarter as they became the Cavaliers' third successive opponent to be restricted to less than 90 points.

Cleveland's win follows blowout victories over top teams - the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers - during a successful Western Conference road-trip of four stops.

The win was also their first return to Atlanta since sweeping the Hawks in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals.

Cleveland trailed for most of the first quarter, but pulled ahead midway through the second and then held the Hawks at bay until the pivotal fourth.

The Cavaliers smashed their opponents in the rebound count (43-30) and drew valuable contributions from Delonte West (17) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (15) to make up for James' sloppy 6-for-20 shooting from the field.

Joe Johnson and Josh Smith had 15 points apiece but the Atlanta offense went missing in the fourth and were kept scoreless for nearly nine minutes.

"I don't know how to even begin to explain it," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. "We didn't execute. We threw the ball all over the place. Offensively we were our own worst nightmare."

The Hawks will get another crack at their Eastern Conference foes today when they travel to Cleveland.

In Michigan, David Lee had a season-high 30 points and 12 rebounds as the New York Knicks won 104-87 and handed the Detroit Pistons an eighth straight loss.

Wilson Chandler added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks. Richard Hamilton had 16 points and Rodney Stuckey scored 15 for Detroit despite combining to shoot just 11 of 34.

In other action, it was: Thunder 110, Wizards 98; Rockets 108, Hornets 100; Bulls 104, Pacers 95; Spurs 117, Timberwolves 99; and Lakers 124, Warriors 118.
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