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Miller, Dalembert too much for listless Cavaliers

Dec 16, 2007 - 6:21 AM By Jeff Brewer PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Andre Miller scored 20 points and Samuel Dalembert added 16 points and 19 rebounds, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 92-86 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

After Damon Jones hit a 3-pointer at 7:58 to give the Cavaliers a 75-74 lead, Miller's drive and layup gave the Sixers a 76-75 lead. Andre Iguodala drained a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 spurt during the middle portion of the fourth quarter to seize control.

Dalembert's putback at 6:24 gave Philadelphia an 81-75 lead.

"We want to get back on that sweet roll and enjoy it," Dalembert said. "Tonight was a game to prove ourselves, and we did it. I knew I had to come in today and do way more than I did (Friday in a home loss to Sacramento). We were a great team today."

Trailing 86-84, LeBron James missed a fadeaway shot from the right corner with 1:05 to play. Iguodala pushed the ball up the court and was fouled by Shannon Brown on a drive to the basket.

Cleveland's Drew Gooden was called for goaltending on the play, and the subsequent three-point play gave Philadelphia an 89-84 lead with 1:01 left.

While Philadelphia shot just 39 percent (32-for-83) for the game, the Sixers did not need to score much to overcome a sluggish overall effort from the Cavaliers, who lost for the eighth time in nine games.

Two free throws by Kyle Korver and one by Iguodala at the end sealed the win.

"You can't get any better than this," said Sixers forward Reggie Evans, who grabbed 14 rebounds in support of Dalembert.

Philadelphia secured 14 offensive rebounds and scored 35 fast-break points.

"They hammered us on the offensive glass," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "We're reeling a little bit because of the losses that we've had."

"We don't have one guy out there who's on their own agenda," Iguodala said. "Everybody is playing team basketball. When we get stops, we get our fast-break points."

The Cavaliers shot just 25 percent (4-of-16) from the field in the final quarter. Indicative of Cleveland's struggles was James, who entered the game leading the league in fourth-quarter scoring.

"We're not playing good basketball right now," James said. "We're not a very good team."

The three-time All-Star accounted for just five second-half points, including only three in the final 12 minutes.

"It was a team win," Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Everybody that came into the game was focused on the things we talked about before the game. We continued to stress throughout the game that when LeBron comes off a screen-and-roll, to corral it, and not let him get to the rim."

James, who entered the game second in the NBA with 10.6 free-throw attempts per game, did not reach the foul line until 4:14 of the fourth quarter - his only free-throw attempt of the contest. He finished with 21 points.

Iguodala added 20 points for the Sixers, who won for the fifth time in six contests.

Gooden also had 21 points for the Cavaliers. Despite the loss, Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes did not seem fazed.

"We've been up and down; it's just about catching a rhythm," he said. "We need to mix it up better. We need to get everybody involved. But, it's early. There are a lot of games to be played."