St. Louis’ own Larry Hughes scored a season-high 40 points and LeBron James added 29 points and 10 assists as the Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 118-111 last night (Monday).
The Cavs were without three of their top players, and nearly lost two others in a 30-point drubbing Sunday night to the Denver Nuggets – Zydrunas llgauskas with back spasms, Damon Jones with a sprained ankle. Both played Monday, but were game-time decisions.
Then, Cleveland’s plane was grounded Sunday night with a mechanical failure. The Cavaliers tried until early Monday morning to fly to Orlando before giving up for the night. They didn’t arrive until about 1:30 p.m. Monday for the 7 p.m. tipoff.
Hughes led the way, scoring 23 in the third quarter on 6-for-7 shooting, including two 3-pointers and an assortment of drives and jumpers. He also hit nine of 10 free throws in the period.
Hedo Turkoglu had 25 points for Orlando, leading all five starters in double figures. Jameer Nelson had 22 points, Rashard Lewis scored 15 and Maurice Evans added 10 points and eight rebounds.
The teams were closely matched through three quarters, and entered the fourth tied at 86. But Cleveland opened a 98-88 lead, by far its biggest, as the Magic scored only two points in the first 4:48 of the period.
Drew Gooden was back in the lineup after missing three games with a strained right groin. He scored six of Cleveland’s first eight points, but finished with 10. The Cavs were still missing Daniel Gibson (strained hamstring), Anderson Varejao (sprained ankle) and Sasha Pavlovic (sprained foot).
Ira Newble also scored 10 for Cleveland, while Devin Brown had 11 off the bench.