CLEVELAND (AP) -LeBron James scored 23 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 24 without missing from the floor and the Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed the Washington Wizards 121-85 on Wednesday night for their season-high fifth straight victory.
Ilgauskas went 10-of-10 from the field and spent the entire fourth quarter resting on the bench.
After an uninspiring first two months, the Cavaliers have regrouped to win 11 of 13, and at the halfway point, they look more determined to defend their Eastern Conference title than at any other time this season.
James added eight rebounds and eight assists in just 31 minutes for the Cavs, who outrebounded the Wizards 53-29 and outscored them 69-39 after halftime.
It was Cleveland’s most lopsided win since beating Philadelphia by 43 on Jan. 15, 1994.
Drew Gooden added 18 points and Sasha Pavlovic 13 for Cleveland, which outscored the Wizards 43-17 and outrebounded them 20-5 in a third quarter as lopsided as any you’ll ever see in an NBA game.
Brendan Haywood led Washington with 11 points. Caron Butler, averaging 21.8 points, had only 10.
Hornets 96, Trail Blazers 81
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Jannero Pargo scored a season-high 24 points in 24 minutes, and New Orleans extended its season-best winning streak to six games.
Pargo’s 10-of-18 shooting, five assists and energy coming off the bench helped the Hornets overcome an early 12-point deficit and surge into the lead for good in the second quarter.
David West scored 18 for the Hornets, who have won 14 of 16 games and lead the Southwest Division after their best first half of a season in franchise history.
Chris Paul had 18 points and 10 assists for New Orleans.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 17 points. Brandon Roy and Travis Outlaw each had 14 for Portland, which wound up 3-4 on its seven-game road trip.
Raptors 114, Celtics 112
BOSTON (AP) – Jose Calderon converted a go-ahead, three-point play with 10.5 seconds left and finished with 24 points and 13 assists to lead Toronto past Boston.
Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker scored 23 points apiece for the Raptors, and Andrea Bargnani had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Carlos Delfino was 5-for-5 from 3-point range, and Calderon had four of Toronto’s 15 3-pointers (in 21 tries).
Kevin Garnett scored 26 for Boston, which had won three in a row and hadn’t lost to an Atlantic Division rival in 10 tries this season. Paul Pierce had 19 points and nine assists, and Ray Allen also scored 19 for Boston.
Toronto improved to 1-3 against Boston and moved 11 games behind the Celtics in the division.
Pistons 86, 76ers 78
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Chauncey Billups had 19 to help the Pistons snap a rare three-game losing streak.
The Pistons still have the second-best record in the East, trailing only Boston, but entered trying to avoid their first four-game skid since 2004-05. The Pistons have won eight of their last nine games against the Sixers.
Willie Green scored 16 points, Andre Iguodala had 15 and Lou Williams 13 for the slumping Sixers. Philadelphia has lost 10 of 12 and what few fans turned out left in droves in the fourth.
Timberwolves 117, Suns 107
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Al Jefferson had a career-high 39 points and 15 rebounds, and the Timberwolves won two in a row for the first time this season.
Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 33 points, but only 19 of them came in the last 43 minutes. The Suns, whose 30-13 record is behind only Boston for league supremacy, had their four-game winning streak stopped.
Steve Nash had 21 points and 16 assists, but it wasn’t enough to keep Phoenix from losing to Minnesota for the second time this season.
Even struggling rookie Corey Brewer (10 points in the first half) and the sporadically used Antoine Walker (seven points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist in 13 first-half minutes) were factors for the Timberwolves. Up-and-down guard Marko Jaric chipped in 15 points.
Magic 112, Grizzlies 85
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points, and Orlando Magic made a team-record 18 3-pointers.
Turkoglu was 6-of-8 outside the arc for Orlando, which hit 55 percent of its 3s. The Magic’s previous record for 3-pointers was 16 against the Atlanta Hawks on April 18, 1996.
Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis scored 16 points apiece for the Magic, and Howard grabbed 10 rebounds. Keyon Dooling finished with 13 points, and Maurice Evans scored 12.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 20 points, and Pau Gasol had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Conley had 13 points.
Mavericks 102, Bobcats 95
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Devin Harris scored 23 points, Josh Howard added 21 points and 12 rebounds and Dallas withstood a late rally by Charlotte.
Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, who improved to 7-0 all-time against Charlotte.
Gerald Wallace had 22 points and 11 rebounds despite playing with a strained left calf. Jason Richardson also scored 22 points and Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, who lost their second straight game.
It was the first matchup between Dallas coach Avery Johnson and his former assistant Sam Vincent, in his first season as Charlotte’s coach.
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