Cavaliers beat Clippers at their own run-and-gun game

CLEVELAND - See the Cavaliers run. See the Cavaliers jump out to gigantic lead. See them almost blow the whole thing. See them rally to win in time for everyone to head home for chalupas.

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Beating the Los Angeles Clippers at their own game, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked like world-beaters during the first half Tuesday night. At times in the second half, though, the hosts more resembled egg beaters. For entertainment purposes, it was quite fun. But for Cavaliers coach Paul Silas' stomach, it was pure hell.

Yet in the end, all the locals left happy, the Cavaliers because they won, 103-95, to improve to 4-1 at Gund Arena and the 16,176 fans because their ticket stubs turned into Taco Bell coupons.

The Clippers (4-3), however, went away a little perplexed about just how fast their four-game win streak went up in smoke. The always-happy-to-run junior team from L.A. was outrun and outgunned by the Cavaliers (4-7) during a whimsical first half in which the home team played some of its finest ball of the young season.

On the strength of an up-tempo transition game, which was fueled by the Clippers' inability to make any sort of shot or play defense, the Cavaliers took a 25-9 lead. The Cavaliers hit 11 of their first 16 shots, many dunks and short jumpers.

The Clippers, in turn, whiffed on 17 of their first 20 looks, which put them on a path of no return on this evening. LeBron James, Darius Miles and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combined for 20 points in the opening quarter.

The lead extended to 28 points in the second quarter, even though the Cavaliers lost starting power forward Carlos Boozer of Juneau to a sprained right ankle late in the first quarter of his own t-shirt giveaway night.

Boozer, a 1999 Juneau-Douglas High School graduate, only played 10 minutes, scoring one point, grabbing five rebounds and blocking a shot. He had been averaging 13.2 points and 11.0 rebounds a game before Tuesday's game.

James didn't have his best shooting night of the year, finishing 6-of-16 for 14 points. But he added eight assists and seven rebounds. Ilgauskas finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Miles settled for 13 points, none in the second half.

Boozer's replacement, Chris Mihm, and Ricky Davis did the heavy lifting down the stretch. Mihm scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Davis finished with a season-high 27 points, four steals and some extra-curricular activities that added to the second-half spice.

In all, the Clippers shot a woeful 21 percent in the first half (11-of-52) and trailed by 22 points at the break. As common wisdom would dictate, they did turn it around in the second half and they ended up putting a little scare into the Cavaliers, but the Cavaliers' lead was simply too much to overcome.

"We knew they were going to make a run," Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. "Hopefully you have a big enough lead to stave it off; we hung in there and got it done."

The Clippers came up with a 14-2 run during the third quarter to get back into the game. It was led by Predrag Drobjnak, who came off the bench and scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. By turning it up on defense and winning the battle of the boards, the Clippers were able to fight back to within six points on six different occasions in the fourth quarter.

Davis made sure of that. He scored 13 second-half points, took two charges at key moments, and was an emotional leader. He also drew a technical foul for punting the ball into the stands late in the third quarter after Corey Maggette grabbed him from behind on an apparent breakaway dunk.

It was really the only fiery thing Maggette did all evening. He scored 19 points and fellow star Quentin Richardson had 17, but the two combined to go just 10-of-38 from the field.

"Obviously, I would've liked to have taken the first half and thrown it away," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We started doing some better things in the second half but when we got real close we missed opportunities."

Boozer did not travel with the team to Washington for tonight's game with the Wizards, but said he didn't think the sprain was serious.

Pistons 106, Lakers 96

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Los Angeles Lakers have been unbeatable at home, and average on the road.

Chauncey Billups had 24 points and eight assists to lead a balanced attack for the Detroit Pistons in a victory over Los Angeles.

The Lakers, who are 5-0 at home, lost their third straight on the road to fall to 3-3.

Hornets 88, Nets 85

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - David Wesley hit two late 3-pointers to cap a 20-point performance that led New Orleans past New Jersey for its third straight win.

Baron Davis added 25 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds and a clutch three-point play. George Lynch had a season-high 17 rebounds for the Hornets.

Timberwolves 89, Nuggets 76

MINNEAPOLIS - Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help Minnesota hold off Denver, the Timberwolves' first win over a conference opponent.

Neither team could put together any perimeter offense, so Minnesota maximized burly Gary Trent in the post. He scored 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting.

Hawks 101, Bucks 93

MILWAUKEE - Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading Atlanta over Milwaukee.

Jason Terry had 19 points, Dion Glover added 12 and Stephen Jackson 11 as the Hawks snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Bucks at the Bradley Center.

Spurs 94, Warriors 81

SAN ANTONIO - Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 19 points to lift San Antonio over Golden State.

Parker hit two 3-pointers as the Spurs took control with a 20-6 run midway through the fourth quarter. The Spurs hit 10 of 17 3-pointers, including three that just beat the shot clock.

Erick Dampier led the Warriors with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double and ninth of the season in 10 games. Golden State dropped its third straight.

Suns 95, Bulls 82

PHOENIX - Amare Stoudemire scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter - including a pair of thunderous dunks - and Phoenix snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Chicago.

Stoudemire also had three fourth-quarter steals and grabbed 10 rebounds. Last season's NBA Rookie of the Year also tied his career best with four assists, after getting just one the entire season entering the game.

Heat 105, SuperSonics 98

SEATTLE - Lamar Odom had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Eddie Jones scored 20 points and Miami beat Seattle for its first road win of the season.

Dwyane Wade had 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Heat (3-8), who trailed 81-76 early in the final period before rallying behind Jones.