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Monday, Jan. 10 7:30pm ET
Cavaliers win third straight | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cavaliers grabbed one for the road. About to leave on a killer seven-game, 12-day West Coast trip, Cleveland made sure they left town on a good note Monday night winning its third straight, 111-106 over the Los Angeles Clippers. "It gives us some confidence going on the road," said rookie guard Andre Miller, who had 18 points in 26 minutes. "We're going to need it." Lamond Murray scored 20 points against his former team, Brevin Knight had 14 assists and made seven free throws in the final 2:16 for the Cavs, who trailed by 11 points in the third quarter and eight to start the fourth. "Then we picked up the defense, got a couple of steals and made our free throws," said Knight. Bob Sura added 20 points for Cleveland, which won't play another home game until Jan. 25. In between, the Cavs, who recently dropped 10 of 11, will travel up and down the West Coast, closing their grueling trip with four games in five nights. "We played down to the Clippers' level tonight," said Sura. "But we've won three in a row. We won in New York, and we're playing well. We've got a little momentum, more confidence and we're definitely going to need it on the road." Derek Anderson, traded by the Cavs to Los Angeles for Murray, led the Clippers with 29 points. Rookie Lamar Odom had 28 before fouling out with 6:06 remaining. Anderson, drafted by the Cavs in the first round in 1997, got a warm hug from Knight before the opening tip and a nice ovation from the Gund Arena crowd. "It felt good to be back and great to see the guys," said Anderson. "I have no animosity toward anyone. It felt good to score 29, but we lost. That's a bad feeling." Shawn Kemp, bothered by a sprained foot, scored 17 points on 6-of-14 for Cleveland, which made 12 straight free throws in the fourth quarter before Knight missed the first of two with 23 seconds left and the Cavs up two. Knight made the second, and after Troy Hudson's basket brought the Clippers within one, Knight made two more to make it 109-106. Clippers coach Chris Ford wanted his team to look for a 3-pointer, but Hudson drove to the basket and missed a lay-in. Sura then made two more free throws to close it out. "We made some turnovers and that put them on the foul line," said Clippers coach Chris Ford. "Both teams committed only 17 turnovers, but every time we made one, it seemed like they scored on it." Troy Nesby had 15 points and Hudson 14 for the Clippers, who made 10 of 18 3-pointers but were outscored 56-22 in the lane. Los Angeles' outside shooting enabled the Clippers to take an eight-point lead into the fourth and Cavs coach Randy Wittman decided to play both point guards -- Miller and Knight -- together for one of the first times all year. Miller's 3 from the wing ignited an 11-2 run that gave the Cavs a 90-89 lead with 8:17 remaining, but Cleveland went five possessions without scoring and the Clippers tied it again on Nesby's 3-pointer. However, with Odom on the bench, the Clippers struggled to score and when they didn't they were forced to foul. The Cavs finished 29 of 39 from the line, including 20 of 24 in the second half. Anderson, who had a four-point play and spectacular layup earlier in the quarter, went 5-for-5 from the floor and Los Angeles shot 74 percent as a team in scoring 38 points in the third period to take an 85-77 lead.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard LA Clippers Clubhouse Cleveland Clubhouse RECAPS Vancouver 112 Boston 103
Cleveland 111
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