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Cleveland Cavaliers 88 New Orleans Hornets
85
by
Brian Hagerman
Cavs @ Hornets
Friday, March 5, 2004
The Cavaliers showed up in New Orleans to play basketball Friday night.
That's more than you could say in the loss to Chicago earlier in the week. The
Cavs showed up in Chicago, but that's all they did. Last night was a different
night and a different story.
Going into the Big Easy was no easy task. But the Cavaliers gutted out a
'playoff type' performance in their 88-85 win over the Hornets. LeBron James hit
the biggest clutch shot of his very young pro career, so far. Carlos Boozer and
Tony Battie came up big down the stretch.
With the Cavs trailing by two points with just over a minute remaining, Jeff
McInnis hit James wide open in the corner for a three to put Cleveland up by one
and they wouldn't relinquish the lead. The victory pulled the Cavs into a tie
for the 8th playoff spot. James finished with a team-high 19 points, while
grabbing six rebounds.
Jamal Mashburn had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Eric Williams
contested his shot and it landed off the mark. Williams posted 15 pts. and 11
boards to go along with his steady defense. Boozer came up with 18 pts. and 8
rebounds, while McInnis had another solid effort with 9 points, 11 assists, and
just one turnover. Battie, off the bench, netted 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 4
key blocks.
Cleveland came out of the gates roaring, but Baron Davis and the Hornets had
a steady comeback and netted a 23-21 lead after one quarter, and held a 46-39
lead at halftime.
The Cavs, known for coming out of the half poorly at times, busted out and
took control of the game late in the third. After a Battie putback, the Cavs led
68-62 heading to the last period of play. Cleveland led for most of the quarter
until Mashburn led a small run by the Hornets to take a two point lead. That's
when James came up clutch for the Cavs.
With the win the Cavs win the season series 3-1. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
struggled, scoring just six points and having five turnovers. He did grab 7
seven rebounds and swat 4 shots.
Davis had a game-high 26 points and fellow teammate Mashburn added 21 while
adding 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Jamaal Magloire put up 13 points and grabbed 9
rebounds before fouling out with about four minutes to play. P.J. Brown helped
out with 12 rebounds of his own.
The Cavs play Milwaukee Saturday night with a chance to move up the playoff
standings.
CavsTalk
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