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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) – Wesley Person and Lamond Murray were all smiles
after scoring 19 points apiece.
Not so happy, however, were Cleveland's Bimbo Coles and the
Grizzlies' Mike Bibby, who were ejected after they scuffled
Thursday night as Cleveland defeated Vancouver 109-95.
"I could see it coming early," Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe
said. "I could see the frustration and it wasn't just from
tonight, it was from previous games."
Cavs coach Randy Wittman focused instead on the free-and-easy
play of his team, which bounced back from an embarrassing 35-point
loss to New York on Tuesday night.
"Lamond played like he was having fun," Wittman said. "We all
did and that's so important. We want to go out there relaxed, but
not lose our intensity."
Bibby and Coles were ejected after scuffling with 9:48 to play.
Bibby took exception to being fouled hard on a drive to the basket
and went after Coles. The players wrestled but threw no punches.
"He threw me to the ground," Bibby said. "I was wondering
what he was doing. We started coming closer to each other and I
just held him to where nothing would happen."
It was Coles' second straight ejection. He was tossed Tuesday
night for arguing calls.
"I was trying to be aggressive, probably a little too much,"
Coles admitted. "We got all tangled."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who scored 18 points for the Grizzles, got
a flagrant foul with 4:15 to play for elbowing Cleveland's Matt
Harpring in the face. The contact appeared inadvertent, however, as
Abdur-Rahim was trying to manuever to the basket.
Andre Miller had 15 points and 16 assists and Clarence
Weatherspoon added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland.
"We moved the ball around pretty good and guys were making
their shots, that's all that really mattered," Miller said.
Miller had six assists and Weatherspoon grabbed eight rebounds
in the first quarter as Cleveland took immediate command. The
Cavaliers' starting five totaled 26 points in the opening period --
double what they combined for in the entire game against the
Knicks.
Michael Dickerson and Bibby each scored 19 points to lead
Vancouver, which lost its seventh in a row. The Grizzlies did not
lead at any time for the third consecutive game.
Dickerson shot just 3-for-11 from the field but made 11 of 12
from the foul line.
Weatherspoon had 11 points and 11 rebounds and in the first half
as Cleveland rolled to a 62-48 lead.
Game notes
Grizzlies guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf did not play because of
lower back spasms. He's listed as day-to-day. ... Cleveland's
starters totaled 64 points on 23-for-47 shooting after going
5-for-27 against New York. ... The Cavs' bench outscored
Vancouver's reserves, 45-15... The Cavs lead the all-time series,
9-1. The loss was Jan. 13 in Vancouver. ... Vancouver is 2-14 and
Cleveland 4-13 since Feb. 20.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 115
Atlanta 101
Cleveland 109
Vancouver 95
Boston 113
New Jersey 98
Portland 101
Utah 99
Phoenix 91
Seattle 88
LA Clippers 97
Houston 92
Sacramento 103
Detroit 98
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