James and Varejao lead Cavaliers to 103-95 victory over Pacers
CLEVELAND (AP)— LeBron James scored 38 points and Anderson Varejao added 15 points and 16 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 103-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Joe Smith scored 12 points and Wally Szczerbiak had 11 for the Cavaliers, winners of their last five at home.
Danny Granger had 19, Marquis Daniels and Troy Murphy each scored 17, Ronald Murray had 13 and Mike Dunleavy 11 for the Pacers, who never led in losing their third in a row.
The game was played before a relatively sparse crowd because of a winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on the city. Cars buried up their doors in drifts could be seen near the arena.
The Pacers arrived in Cleveland on Thursday after a loss to San Antonio and before the weather affected travel.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 21 points, with James scoring 18 points in the third quarter to put them up 77-64.
The Pacers made things interesting with a 7-0 run to draw to 92-87 with 3:46 left. But Granger fouled out at that point and the Pacers were short-handed the rest of the way.
James went scoreless in the final period until there was 3:35 remaining. He then hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and assisted on a Varejao basket inside to push the lead back to 97-87.
Daniels and Murphy hit 3-pointers for the Pacers to cut the gap to 97-93 before James hit a stepback 3 from in front of the Pacers bench at the 1:21 mark.
James had to be treated by a trainer for cramps in his left thigh in the final minute.
Delonte West hit two foul shots with 32.8 seconds left and Varejao added another to close the scoring.
The Cavaliers continued their mastery of the Pacers. They’ve won the last seven meetings and 10 of the last 11, including seven straight at Quicken Loans Arena. The victory gave the Cavaliers their first season sweep over Indiana since 1992-93.
Cleveland dominated the opening half, rolling to a 34-17 lead after a quarter while the Pacers struggled on offense. They hit just 7 of 23 from the field for 30 percent, while the Cavaliers were making 59 percent (13 of 22) of their shots.
James had 14 points and seven boards by halftime, with Varejao adding 12 points and 12 rebounds—just one off the Quicken Loans Arena record for a half.
Dunleavy scored nine of his 11 points to lead the Pacers in the opening half.
Yahoo Recap
CLEVELAND (AP)— LeBron James scored 38 points and Anderson Varejao added 15 points and 16 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 103-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Joe Smith scored 12 points and Wally Szczerbiak had 11 for the Cavaliers, winners of their last five at home.
Danny Granger had 19, Marquis Daniels and Troy Murphy each scored 17, Ronald Murray had 13 and Mike Dunleavy 11 for the Pacers, who never led in losing their third in a row.
The game was played before a relatively sparse crowd because of a winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on the city. Cars buried up their doors in drifts could be seen near the arena.
The Pacers arrived in Cleveland on Thursday after a loss to San Antonio and before the weather affected travel.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 21 points, with James scoring 18 points in the third quarter to put them up 77-64.
The Pacers made things interesting with a 7-0 run to draw to 92-87 with 3:46 left. But Granger fouled out at that point and the Pacers were short-handed the rest of the way.
James went scoreless in the final period until there was 3:35 remaining. He then hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and assisted on a Varejao basket inside to push the lead back to 97-87.
Daniels and Murphy hit 3-pointers for the Pacers to cut the gap to 97-93 before James hit a stepback 3 from in front of the Pacers bench at the 1:21 mark.
James had to be treated by a trainer for cramps in his left thigh in the final minute.
Delonte West hit two foul shots with 32.8 seconds left and Varejao added another to close the scoring.
The Cavaliers continued their mastery of the Pacers. They’ve won the last seven meetings and 10 of the last 11, including seven straight at Quicken Loans Arena. The victory gave the Cavaliers their first season sweep over Indiana since 1992-93.
Cleveland dominated the opening half, rolling to a 34-17 lead after a quarter while the Pacers struggled on offense. They hit just 7 of 23 from the field for 30 percent, while the Cavaliers were making 59 percent (13 of 22) of their shots.
James had 14 points and seven boards by halftime, with Varejao adding 12 points and 12 rebounds—just one off the Quicken Loans Arena record for a half.
Dunleavy scored nine of his 11 points to lead the Pacers in the opening half.
Yahoo Recap
