LeBron, Cavs down Clips

Jan 14, 2007, 6:35 GMT

Los Angeles, CA - LeBron James had 28 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Los Angeles Clippers, 104-92, at the Staples Center.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 points and eight rebounds and Damon Jones helped spearhead a 26-9 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters, as Cleveland bounced back from a 109-90 loss in Phoenix on Thursday night to improve to 2-1 on its season-long seven-game road trip. Jones ended with 12 points for the Cavs, who have won six of seven, and nine of 11.

Eric Snow added 18 points for Cleveland.

'We had a good effort for 48 minutes,' said Cleveland head coach Mike Brown. 'We executed offensively and defensively.'

Chris Kaman had 20 points and nine rebounds and Corey Maggette tallied 22 points for the Clippers, who had a two-game win streak halted.

With the game tied at 64-64, the Cavs, led by James and Jones, took control. James sparked a 14-6 run to end the quarter by scoring six points to give Cleveland a 78-69 lead.

Jones, who hit three free throws to end the stanza, continued the burst in the fourth. His three-pointer early on gave the Cavs an 11-points lead, 82-71. James then hit a pair of free throws with nearly four minutes elapsed to increased the lead to 87-71.

Jones three-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes remaining gave Cleveland a 90-73 advantage and the Cavs cruised to the finish.

'Everybody was in tune defensively,' said James. 'We took care of business. It's fun not to let guys score on us. It's more fun defensively than offensively right now.'

Elton Brand ended with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which led 27-24 after one quarter and 48-47 at halftime.

Game Notes

Cleveland improved to 8-10 on the road.

LA fell to 12-7 at home.

This was the first meeting of the season between these two teams.

The last three years they have split the season series.

Cleveland ended a three-game slide in LA.

© 2007 The Sports Network