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ORLANDO, Florida: The weary Cleveland Cavaliers rebounded from an
embarrassing loss to Denver with a 118-111 National Basketball
Association victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Larry Hughes scored 33 of his 40 points in the
second half and superstar LeBron James chipped in 29 points, seven
rebounds and 10 assists to lift the Cavaliers, who were again
missing injured Daniel Gibson, Damon Jones, Anderson Varejao and
Sasha Pavlovic.
The Cavaliers didn’t even make it to Orlando
until Monday afternoon, thanks to a delayed flight following
Sunday’s dismal 113-83 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
James had to do without his usual afternoon nap
for the first time in his NBA career.
However, he showed no ill-effects. After sitting
out the fourth quarter of Sunday’s blowout defeat, he started
strong with 13 first-half points.
The Cavaliers trailed 55-52 at halftime, but
Hughes came alive in the third quarter. He sank a three-pointer 24
seconds after the interval to knot the score at 55-55 and scored 18
points in the final five minutes of the period o make it 86-86
heading into the final quarter.
Hughes and James combined for 16 points over the
final five minutes to secure the victory.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 25 points to lead the
Magic, who shot just 40 percent (19-of-47) in the second half en
route to their third loss in their last four home games.
-- AFP
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