James scores 41 as Cavs hold off Blazers
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—LeBron James(notes) had 41 points and 10 rebounds and theCleveland Cavaliers held off a fourth-quarter Portland rally to beat the TrailBlazers 106-94 on Sunday night.
Shaquille O’Neal(notes) had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who wontheir sixth straight against the Blazers.
James, wearing one blue shoe and one orange shoe, was 8 for 8 from the floorfor 20 points in the first quarter alone. He finished 13 of 19 from the fieldand made 12 of 14 free-throw attempts.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Le… AP – Jan 10, 10:11 pm EST ![]()
Cleveland Cavaliers center Sha… AP – Jan 10, 9:56 pm EST ![]()
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Le… AP – Jan 10, 9:53 pm EST ![]()
Portland Trail Blazers forward… AP – Jan 10, 9:50 pm EST ![]()
Cleveland Cavaliers center Sha… AP – Jan 10, 9:48 pm EST ![]()
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Brandon Roy(notes) scored 34 points for the Blazers, who trailed by as many as 17points in the second half but rallied late, closing to 76-74 on two consecutive3-pointers from Martell Webster(notes) and Andre Miller’s(notes) layup.
Portland didn’t get any closer until Roy’s 3-pointer with 6:55 left tied itat 87.
After the teams traded free throws, Anderson Varejao(notes) hit a layup to give theCavaliers back the lead at 91-89. Mo William’s 3-pointer extended it to 95-89,and after a couple of costly Blazers turnovers, Jawad Williams(notes) hit a 3-pointerto stretch it to 98-89 with 2:58 left, and Cleveland led the rest of the way.
The Trail Blazers were hampered without a big man to counter O’Neal. BothGreg Oden(notes) and Joel Przybilla(notes) sustained season-ending knee injuries. VeteranJuwan Howard(notes) has been filling in.
Oden and Przybilla top a long list of injuries Portland is dealing with.Forwards Nicolas Batum(notes) (shoulder), Travis Outlaw(notes) (left foot) and Rudy Fernandez(notes)(back) are all rehabbing.
The Blazers did see the return Sunday night of guard Steve Blake(notes), who wasrecently hospitalized for pneumonia and missed four games.
But the Blazers had no solution for James. His layup capped a 12-0 Clevelandrun in the second quarter that stretched the lead to 46-31, and the Cavaliersled 64-49 at the break. James finished the first half with 31 points—the mostpoints the Blazers have allowed in a half this season.
Portland was coming off an emotional 107-98 victory over the Los AngelesLakers on Friday night, and fans at the Rose Garden were hopeful. One held asign reading: “LeBron may be King but we have ROYalty.”
The Cavaliers were coming off a 99-97 loss Friday night to the DenverNuggets, who won despite playing without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony(notes).
NOTES: There was a moment of silence before the game for former SeattleSupersonics broadcaster Bob Blackburn, who died Friday at age 85 after a longillness. Blackburn was a fixture in the Pacific Northwest. … In the firsthalf, O’Neal tumbled into the courtside seats and planted a kiss on the cheek ofactor Daniel Baldwin, who was sitting courtside in a Blazers jersey. … Also inthe crowd was former Blazer Chris Dudley, who is running for governor in Oregon.
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