James guides Cavs past Bobcats

Feb 3, 2007, 3:30 GMT

Cleveland, OH - LeBron James scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as Cleveland trounced Charlotte, 101-81, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Drew Gooden added 16 points for the Cavaliers, who won for the second time in three contests. Larry Hughes chipped in with 13 points while Anderson Varejao had 12 points and 13 boards off the bench.

'It was a good business like approach to a win,' said Cleveland coach Mike Brown. 'I thought it was a good total team effort tonight. Obviously LeBron was terrific with the double-double.'

Gerald Wallace tallied 16 points and six rebounds for the Bobcats, who lost for the first time in three games. Rookie Adam Morrison had 14 points and Raymond Felton finished with 10 points.

The Cavs ran out to 24-19 after the opening 12 minutes and then took control with a dominating second quarter. Cleveland outscored the Bobcats 26-15 in the frame to take a commanding 50-34 edge at intermission.

The Cavs continued to play frontrunner through the third quarter, 71-55.

Charlotte tried to get back into the contest early in the final frame when Matt Carroll drained a three less than a minute in to make it 72-60.

But, the Cavaliers quickly righted themselves thanks to consecutive buckets from James. First the superstar buried a jumper and then he ignited the crowd with a slam and Cleveland led 76-60 with 10:33 left.

The Cavs continued to pull away from there. Donyell Marshall's triple gave Cleveland its first 20-point cushion, 83-63, with 7:29 on the clock.

The Bobcats never threatened from there as the Cavaliers coasted to the finish line.

Game Notes

Cleveland is now 17-6 on its homecourt.

Charlotte is 8-15 on the road this season.

The Bobcats were without forwards Sean May and Othella Harrington. May is out indefinitely with a bone bruise in his right knee, while Harrington will undergo surgery on his left knee and miss three-to-six weeks.

Charlotte (0-5) has never bested the Cavs in Cleveland.

© 2007 The Sports Network