Cavs edge the Lakers

Feb 11, 2007, 23:55 GMT

Cleveland, OH - LeBron James only scored 18 points, but his teammates picked him up, and the Cleveland Cavaliers earned an impressive 99-90 victory over the LA Lakers.

Aleksandar Pavlovic scored 21 points, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 17 points and raked in seven rebounds for the Cavs, who won their third straight. Anderson Varejao added 12 points off the bench.

Kobe Bryant finished with 36 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but the Lakers still fell to their third straight loss. Vladimir Radmanovic scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards, and Lamar Odom scored 11 points and raked in 11 boards.

The lead see-sawed back and forth in the final quarter, and a Smush Parker jumper brought LA to within 86-85 with 2:08 left in the game. Varejao answered with a jumper on the ensuing possession, though, and Pavlovic stole the ball from Bryant on the next trip down the court, hit a layup and drew a foul. He sank the free throw with 1:24 left, putting Cleveland up 91-85.

An Odom jumper made it 91-87, but the Cavs outscored LA 8-3 in the final minute, sealing the win.

A 13-3 Lakers run to close the third quarter gave them the advantage heading into the final 12 minutes. Trailing 61-54 late in the quarter, Odom and Bryant cued the stretch with baskets to pull LA to within 61-58, and a Sasha Vujacic trey tied the game at 63 with 2:15 left in the third. Maurice Evans closed the stretch with two free throws, and LA took a 67-64 lead into the fourth.

A Pavlovic dunk in the final seconds of the first quarter gave the Cavs a 24-23 lead entering the second quarter.

Back-to-back baskets by Bryant pulled the Lakers to within 43-40 with 2:23 left in the second quarter, but the Cavs answered with nine straight. Daniel Gibson capped the run with a three-point play, and the Cavs took a 52-41 lead into the break.

Game Notes

The Lakers have now lost three straight at Cleveland.

The Lakers made only 4- of-20 from behind the arc.

© 2007 The Sports Network