THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 23 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 24 without missing from the floor and the Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed the Washington Wizards 121-85 on Wednesday night for their season-high fifth straight victory.
Ilgauskas went 10-of-10 from the field and spent the entire fourth quarter resting on the bench.
After an uninspiring first two months, the Cavaliers have regrouped to win 11 of 13, and at the halfway point, they look more determined to defend their Eastern Conference title than at any other time this season.
James added eight rebounds and eight assists in just 31 minutes for the Cavs, who outrebounded the Wizards 53-29 and outscored them 69-39 after halftime.
It was Cleveland’s most lopsided win since beating the Los Angeles Lakers by 38 on Nov. 30, 1994.
The Wizards came in 7-2 in their last nine and were expected to give the Cavs a much tougher test. Instead, Washington played perhaps its worst game of the season.
Drew Gooden added 18 points and Sasha Pavlovic 13 for Cleveland, which outscored the Wizards 43-17 and outrebounded them 20-5 in a third quarter as lopsided as any you’ll ever see in an NBA game.
Brendan Haywood led Washington with 11 points. Caron Butler, averaging 21.8 points, had only 10.
The Cavs led 52-46 at halftime before shredding Washington’s defence during the third. Cleveland shot 70 per cent from the floor (16-of-23) in the period against the Wizards, who stood around like department store mannequins on defence as the Cavs set an arena record for points in a quarter.
On one possession, the Cavaliers grabbed three offensive rebounds and each time passed the ball out to the wing to fire up wide-open three-pointers. None of them dropped, but the sequence didn’t please Wizards coach Eddie Jordan.
Later, Larry Hughes drove down the lane as four Wizards watched him deliver a two-handed dunk.
With his team leading 95-63 after three, Cavs coach Mike Brown emptied his bench so his starters could get some down time. They’ll need it with the running-and-gunning Phoenix Suns coming to town on Friday.
The Wizards have taken pride in playing better defence of late. Well, it was almost nonexistent for much of the first half as the Cavaliers shot 74 per cent from the floor in the first quarter and hovered around 60 per cent until just before half.
Washington, though, was able to stay within striking distance thanks to a nice boost from its bench, which contributed 18 points.
But beginning with an 11-1 spurt after halftime, the Cavaliers quickly seized control and turned the game into a laugher.
Wizards rookie guard Nick Young enjoyed one of the top moments of his brief pro career — and Washington’s best highlight of the night — when he got free down the lane and dunked hard over James, who is usually the one posterizing players with slams.
Ilgauskas (15) and James (13) combined for 28 points on 11-of-12 shooting as the Cavaliers opened a 34-26 lead after one.
Notes: Pavlovic sprained his left foot in the third quarter and did not return. … James said his soon-to-be-released New York Yankees-inspired sneakers, which have upset some Cleveland fans, are nothing more than "a tribute to one of the greatest franchises in sports. It’s just me being a fan." So, does he plan to pay homage to the Dallas Cowboys, his favourite NFL team? "No," he joked, "they didn’t make the Super Bowl." … The Eastern Conference standings are posted on one wall of Cleveland’s locker room. At 8-32, Miami is at the bottom, a fact that stuns James. "If you look at that team, they look like they have a little more talent than us," James said. "I don’t know how you can be 8-32. It’s definitely tough."
