LeBron leads Cavs to blowout win

Dec 10, 2006, 3:45 GMT

Cleveland, OH - LeBron James poured in a game-high 27 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out six assists as Cleveland crushed Indiana, 107-75, at Quicken Loans Arena.

James finished a sizzling 11-of-16 shooting while Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Damon Jones each scored 15 points for the Cavaliers, who have won two straight and three of four.

'We've always been able to share the ball,' James said when asked about the team's passing in the first half. 'We made extra passes and guys were able to finish. We wanted to try and execute as much as possible and we were able to do that.'

Anderson Varejao netted 13 points and Donyell Marshall had 11 with 17 boards in the win.

Cleveland shot 53 percent from the field.

Darrell Armstrong led the Pacers with 13 points off the bench and Danny Granger contributed 12 and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pacers, who have dropped four of their last six games.

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle sent guard Stephen Jackson to the locker room in the second quarter for 'conduct detrimental to the team' and also told him not to return to the floor after halftime.

Jamaal Tinsley added 11 points on 9-of-13 from the line, despite shooting a dismal 1-of-10 from the floor, and Sarunas Jasikevicius donated 10 in the loss.

The Cavaliers opened the game with a 15-5 run, capped by James' driving layup midway through the first. Indiana got as close as eight on a Tinsley free throw, but Cleveland answered with six straight points before James hit a layup for a 31-16 advantage after one.

With just under three minutes remaining in the second, James drained a layup to give the Cavaliers a commanding 52-28 advantage. The Pacers, though, came back with a 14-4 burst led by Armstrong's 10 points to make it a 56-42 contest at the break.

It was all Cleveland in the second half as they outscored Indiana, 28-13 in the third and finished the frame with a 9-0 spurt en route to a 84-55 lead.

The Pacers never threatened in the fourth and Hughes' jumper opened up a 34- point advantage, 99-65, midway through the period as the Cavaliers cruised to the blowout victory.

Indiana finished a lousy 32.5 percent shooting.

Game Notes

Armstrong finished 5-of7 shooting.

Cleveland went 9-of-19 from three-point range while Indiana was 5-of-14 from beyond the arc.

Cleveland activated guard Larry Hughes, who missed 10 games with a sprained right ankle. He finished with eight points and four assists.

Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal missed his second straight game with a sore left hamstring.

Cleveland's Drew Gooden was a late scratch with a strained groin and is listed as day-to- day.

Cleveland travels to New Orleans/Oklahoma City on Monday while Indiana visits Chicago.

© 2006 The Sports Network