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 22 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.
Spurs 103, Lakers 91
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Tim Duncan had 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Antonio past the Lakers.
Ime Udoka added a season-high 18 points and four other Spurs scored in double digits to give San Antonio its second straight victory.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf scored 14 points. Sasha Vujacic and Lamar Odom added 11 points apiece.
The Spurs broke open the game in the third quarter, looking like a different team after a less-than-stellar first half.
They started with a 14-0 run that included six points from Duncan, grabbing a 59-54 lead with 5:39 left. Tied at 61 with 4:18 to play, San Antonio closed the quarter – and took the lead for good – by outscoring the Lakers 15-5.
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.
Bulls 108, Pacers 95
CHICAGO (AP) – Kirk Hinrich scored a career-high 38 points, and Chicago beat Indiana with its two best players were injured.
The Bulls learned earlier in the day that forward Luol Deng would miss one to three weeks because of his recurring left Achilles’ tendinitis. Then, they found out that leading scorer Ben Gordon would sit out with a sprained right wrist.
Andres Nocioni scored 24 points, including six during a 17-0 run in the second quarter that put the Bulls ahead for good. Joakim Noah added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Thabo Sefolosha scored 14 points.
Danny Granger did all he could to keep Indiana in the game, scoring a career-high 33 points.
Nuggets 107, Hawks 100
DENVER (AP) – Allen Iverson scored 29 points and Linas Kleiza added 23 to lift Denver, playing without All-Star Carmelo Anthony, to a victory.
Anthony missed his first game of the season with a sprained left ankle. Marcus Camby finished with 13 points and grabbed 21 rebounds for Denver.
Josh Smith had a triple-double for the Hawks, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Marvin Williams had 20 points and Al Horford added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which has lost six straight road games.
Clippers 111, Kings 85
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Chris Kaman added another benchmark to his breakout season with 21 rebounds and 20 points, and rookie Al Thornton scored 23 to help Los Angeles beat Sacramento.
It was the fifth time in Kaman’s five NBA seasons the 7-foot center had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.
Mike Bibby scored 16 points for the Kings, who committed 22 turnovers and fell to 0-9 on the road this season against Western Conference teams. Brad Miller added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Corey Maggette scored 11 of his 21 points during a 5:05 span of the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that capped a 19-6 run and gave Los Angeles a 69-57 lead.
Rockets 109, SuperSonics 107
SEATTLE (AP) – Tracy McGrady scored 28 points and took over in the final 90 seconds, helping Houston hand Seattle its 12th straight loss.
Nursing a left knee injury, McGrady scored 18 points after halftime and was responsible for Houston’s final eight points, as the Rockets rallied from a 99-89 deficit with 5 minutes left.
Yao Ming scored 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and was 14-of-15 at the free throw line for Houston. Alston added 18 points, including five 3-pointers.
Kevin Durant led Seattle with 25 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 22 off the bench. Seattle has yet to win in 2008. Seattle’s 12-game skid is the worst single-season losing streak in franchise history.
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