Final
James leads Cavaliers past Magic to end skid
Dec 24, 2006 - 5:14 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- LeBron James' fourth-quarter barrage ended the Cleveland Cavaliers' losing streak.James scored 19 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cavaliers to an 86-83 triumph over the Orlando Magic.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored a season-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds and Drew Gooden added 14 and 12 for Cleveland, which shot 40 percent (34-of-85) from the field.
With the game tied, 75-75, with 3:44 left, James scored 10 of the Cavaliers' final 11 points to seal the victory and end their three-game losing streak.
"I just got in a comfort zone," James said. "I saw our team was struggling. I just tried to be aggressive."
James also became the the youngest player (21 years, 359 days) in history to reach 7,000 career points.
"The first three quarters (James) wasn't really hitting anything, then he showed why he is a superstar," Magic center Dwight Howard said. "He won the game."
The two-time All-Star hit a hanging jumper in the lane to push the lead to 81-77. He then nailed a 3-pointer with 29 seconds to play for an 84-77 bulge.
"We saw the LeBron that we saw a lot of last year," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "It was good to see him put us on his back and will this win for us."
The Cavaliers outrebounded the Magic, 51-39, and outscored Orlando, 25-10, on second-chance points.
Howard collected 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who shot just 44 percent (30-of-69).
"Their offensive rebounding was the difference in the game," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "We gave up 23 offensive rebounds."
- NBA
ORLANDO 83
CLEVELAND 86 FINAL
Dec 23 10:07 PM - NBA
ORLANDO 65
CLEVELAND 62 END, 3RD QTR
Dec 23 9:26 PM - NBA
ORLANDO 44
CLEVELAND 40 HALFTIME
Dec 23 8:42 PM - NBA
ORLANDO 25
CLEVELAND 21 END, 1ST QTR
Dec 23 8:08 PM
Related News
- Shaquille O’Neal To Be First To Have Jersey Retired by Magic Jan 4
- LeBron James Has Been At His Best for Many Birthdays Dec 29
- Cavs beat Bulls 109-95 Dec 23
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls gamethread Dec 23
- Cavs down to 10 healthy players vs. Bulls Dec 23
- Watch the Market: Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Dec 22
- Shorthanded Cavs routed by Pelicans 123-104 Dec 21
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New Orleans Pelicans gamethread Dec 21
- Cleveland Cavaliers defeat Utah Jazz 124-116 Dec 20
- Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Utah Jazz gamethread Dec 20
- What to watch for in Cavaliers vs. Jazz Dec 20
- Cavs, Rubio reportedly discussing parting ways Dec 20