• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Home grows sweeter for Cavs in rout of Celtics

CLEVELAND
Sun Apr 12, 2009 10:21pm EDT
Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James (R) grabs a loose ball in front of Boston Celtics Tony Allen during the second quarter of their NBA basketball game in Cleveland, April 12, 2009. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - LeBron James scored 29 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Boston Celtics 107-76 on Sunday to move within one win of the league's record for home victories in a season.

Sports

Cleveland, 39-1 in its home arena, can equal the 1985-86 Celtics' NBA record of 40-1 with a home victory over Philadelphia in Wednesday's regular-season finale.

"Whenever you can get a record as a team or as an individual, you should be proud of it," James told reporters. "We should be proud of what we did today."

Although Sunday's contest was a meeting of the Eastern Conference's top two teams, the outcome was never in doubt after the league-leading Cavaliers (65-15) raced to a 31-9 first quarter advantage over the Celtics (60-20).

"It was really fun," said James, who had 10 points in the quarter. "I looked up at the scoreboard and they were shooting 15 percent. It was unbelievable."

The lead grew to 30 points on a James free throw in the second quarter.

James also had seven assists and four rebounds in 30 minutes of play. He scored his final basket on a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining in the third period.

Four team mates joined the All-Star forward in double figures. Daniel Gibson had 15 points, Mo Williams and Delonte West scored 13 each and Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 14 points. Only two other Celtics finished in double figures. Glen Davis had 12 and reserve Mikki Moore scored 10.

Boston's starting guards wound up with 11 points between them. Ray Allen scored six and Rajon Rondo had five.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he thought his players forgot how to play as a team.

"Every guy thought, 'You know what? I am going to win this game for us tonight,'" Rivers said. "I told our guys I understand that you want to win, but that's not how you win.

"You win by playing together. We have been such a great ball movement team, but we were not tonight."

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ian Ransom and Greg Stutchbury)
Sports


More from Reuters

Demonstrator holds a signboard with a slogan "Bla bla bla ACT NOW" during a rally outside the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen December 12, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Charisius

"Polluters are given rights to continue their dirty habits"

A climate change scientist blasts proposals for a cap and trade system, arguing it allows dirty industries to continue polluting, instead of rewarding innovation.  Full Article | Full Coverage 

    Climate Conference
    A man looks at a YouTube page in a file photo. REUTERS/Peter Jones

    Would you pay for YouTube?

    The most visited video site in the U.S. is weighing the idea of giving paid subscribers access to premium TV shows and movies. But betting on the future of online content isn't easy.  Full Article 

    MEDIA
    Indian woman mourns death of her relative killed in tsunami in Cuddalore. When an earthquake of magnitude 9.15 struck off Indonesia's Aceh province on December, 26, 2004, it triggered a huge tsuanmi that raced across the Indian Ocean and hit Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India. The worst natural disaster of the decade left 230,000 people dead or missing. Taken on December 28, 2004 by Arko Datta

    Pictures that defined a decade

    A woman's grief amid the tsunami devastation and one woman's fight against police in the Amazon are among the indelible Reuters images of the last 10 years.  Slideshow 

    Pictures