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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) – Shawn Marion made sure the Phoenix Suns took
advantage of every opportunity in their bid for a playoff berth.
|  | | Jason Kidd, center, tries to make his way between Andre Miller, left, and forward Clarence Weatherspoon. |
Marion scored 25 points as Phoenix overcame a 17-point deficit
to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-98 Saturday night and clinch a
playoff berth for the 13th consecutive season.
"I was just determined in what I was supposed to do," Marion
said. "It was like a mismatch on the court, so we had to take
advantage of them."
Marion scored nine straight points over a 2:36 span and Phoenix
went on a 14-4 run for its first lead, 66-64, midway through the
third quarter.
Jason Kidd punctuated the outburst with a 3-pointer and an
11-foot jumper as Phoenix moved ahead to stay.
"We came out lethargic," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "We
crept back into the game and got in position where, if we played
hard, we could win. We played much harder in the second half."
Lamond Murray scored nine points in the fourth quarter as
Cleveland stayed close. The Cavaliers closed a 10-point deficit to
98-96 with 17 seconds left when Clarence Weatherspooon converted a
bad pass by the Suns' Rodney Rogers into a slam dunk.
Tony Delk then drove for a score, was fouled on the play, and
made the free throw, pushing the Suns' lead back to five points.
Kidd, who left the Suns' game against Minnesota on Friday night
with back spasms and a sore knee, finished with 17 points and nine
assists in 43 minutes.
"I'm young, I can kind of bounce back," Kidd said. "We've got
a big week coming up, the Lakers, Dallas, Sacramento and Utah.
We've got to keep playing hard."
Weatherspoon and Matt Harpring each scored 20 points for
Cleveland, which lost its seventh straight.
"We gave up another one of those big quarters," Weatherspoon
said. "That's been one of our problems this whole season."
Cleveland made nine of its first 11 shots and moved out to a
21-6 lead. The Suns missed 11 of their first 13 attempts.
The Cavaliers' lead reached 17 points, 49-32, before Rogers
sparked the Suns.
Rogers scored eight points in 49 seconds, hitting a 16-foot
jumper with 3:01 left in the first half, a driving layup, a free
throw and a 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining in the second quarter.
"We were moving the ball well, getting easy shots," Cavs guard
Andre Miller said. "They made adjustments that led to turnovers.
Our missed shots and turnovers became 3-pointers and layups for
them."
Game notes
Phoenix went 43 consecutive possessions without a turnover
during a 20:20 span over the second and third quarters. ... The
Suns scored 30 points off 22 Cleveland turnovers and yielded 14
points on 11 turnovers. ... Phoenix was outscored in the first half
by an average of 51.7 to 37.3 during four road games in five
nights. The Suns went 2-2 on the trip. ... Cleveland guard Trajan
Langdon matched a career high with seven rebounds. ... Delino
DeShields, Jerry Hairston and coach Eddie Murray were among several
Baltimore Orioles, in town to play the Indians, at the game.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 102
Washington 100
Detroit 97
Charlotte 92
Phoenix 102
Cleveland 98
Utah 116
Dallas 103
Houston 110
Atlanta 97
Denver 98
Vancouver 97
San Antonio 93
LA Clippers 83
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