James jump starts Cavs to rout of Raptors

Mar 4, 2007, 3:40 GMT

Cleveland, OH - LeBron James scored 36 points on 10-of-20 shooting, as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened a brief two-game homestand with a 120-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Larry Hughes scored 27 points for Cleveland, which has won two of its last three games. Anderson Varejao notched 14 points and 11 boards, and Shannon Brown also netted 14. Donyell Marshall added 12 points and nine boards for Cleveland, which will also host Houston on Monday and owns a 22-8 record at Quicken Loans Arena this season.

Chris Bosh scored 25 points for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors, who have dropped three of their last four games. Juan Dixon scored 24 points in the loss for Toronto, which is 12-19 on the road this season.

Trailing by two four minutes into the game, Cleveland went on a 14-4 run, capped by a pair of Hughes buckets, and led 30-23 heading into the second quarter.

The Cavs added three to their lead in the second, down the stretch in which James exploded for 17 straight Cleveland points, and Brown's three-pointer at the buzzer ended the period. James' single-handed dominance and the trey by Brown put the Cavs ahead by double digits, 62-52, at halftime.

Cleveland kept with its theme of closing strong, finishing the third quarter on a 12-2 spurt, snapped by a pair of Bosh free throws with five ticks left for a 93-74 lead heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Cleveland guard Daniel Gibson will miss two weeks with a sprained left big toe, and Toronto's Anthony Parker sat out with a strained left hip flexor and Andrea Bargnani (personal) remained sidelined...Saturday's showdown between Toronto and Cleveland was the fourth and final meeting of the regular season. The Cavs ended 3-1 in the 2006-07 series, and have won seven of eight and nine of the last 11 matchups...Toronto has lost five straight after winning its last two at Cleveland.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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