LeBron
James
was shaky early and spectacular late.
James had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his fourth
triple-double
of the season, lifting the Cleveland
Cavaliers to a 113-101 victory over the
Detroit
Pistons on Tuesday night.
“Every point, rebound and assist was needed,” Cavs coach Mike Brown
said.
The final score was relatively lopsided, but the game wasn’t. There
were 10
lead changes and 21 ties, the last one with 4:44 left.
The Cavs closed the game by outscoring Detroit 19-7, thanks in large
part to
James.
He set up Mo
Williams
for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with a sharp pass from the
top of the key to the right corner, then grabbed a rebound, charged up
the court
and made a drop pass to Anderson
Varejao
for a five-point cushion.
The Pistons wouldn’t go away, pulling within three points three
times,
before James blocked a shot and made consecutive jumpers to seal the
win.
“The guy’s not human,” said Detroit’s Will
Bynum,
adding he thought James
got away with goaltending on his layup with 1 1/2 minutes left. “When he
gets
rolling, you just want to try to stop his teammates and hope that’s
enough.”
Those teammates led the way when the superstar had as many turnovers
(three)
as points late in the first quarter and just five points at halftime.
Williams finished with 20 points, Antawn
Jamison(notes)
had 15 points and 10
rebounds, and reserve Jawad
Williams(notes)
added 10 points.
James missed 10-of-15 shots over the first three quarters and was 5
for 7 in
the final one as he added four assists and three rebounds to his total
for his
28th career triple-double.
“In the fourth quarter, we made our mark,” he said. “That’s closeout
time
for me.”
He said triple-doubles are “absolutely” his favorite accomplishment
other
than winning.
“That means you’re doing everything your team needs to win basketball
games,” James said. “That is one of the best things you can have as an
individual.”
Adding to his highlight reel, James had a three-point play that ended
with a
layup after Tayshaun
Prince’s
foul just inside the 3-point line.
“I’m not surprised by any call in the NBA any more, but you also have
to
give him some credit,” Bynum said. “There’s probably no one else on
Earth who
could have even gotten a shot off like that.”
Cleveland has won four in a row and lost only one of its last 11
games,
improving to an NBA-best 53-15.
Richard
Hamilton
had 24 points and was one of six Pistons who scored in
double figures.
Detroit has dropped lost three straight and 10 of 12.
The Pistons, unlike recent games, were very competitive until James
took
over in the fourth quarter.
“We were trying to redeem ourselves, so this is very frustrating,”
said
Charlie
Villanueva,
who scored 16 points. “It’s encouraging to see us compete
like this, but it is still another loss.”
Prince had 15 points and matched a season high with eight assists,
Bynum had
12 points, rookie Jonas
Jerebko
scored 10 points and Jason
Maxiell
had 10 points
and 15 rebounds.
The score was tied after the first quarter, the Pistons led by two at
halftime and by one entering the final period.
“We know we can play with any team in the league, and tonight proved
that
again,” Bynum said. “We just have to play like this and finish the
games.”
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
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