Cavs, minus LeBron, pound Kings

Mar 14, 2007, 2:50 GMT

Cleveland, OH - The Cavaliers learned just before tip-off that they would be without the services of superstar forward LeBron James, but it was no matter as Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic scored 25 points each, a career high for Pavlovic, and Cleveland routed the Sacramento Kings, 124-100.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who won their sixth straight. Drew Gooden finished with 10 points and 10 boards, and Ira Newble added 12 points for the Cavs.

'Any win is big, especially when you don't have LeBron,' said Newble.

James sat with back spasms, and will travel with the team to Memphis, where he will be evaluated before Wednesday's game against the Grizzlies.

Ron Artest, in his second game back from a suspension following his arrest last week on suspicion of domestic violence, finished with 19 points for the Kings, who dropped their third in a row. Kevin Martin scored 13 points and Mike Bibby finished with 12 for Sacramento.

The Cavs took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Kings 35-18 in the period. Pavlovic kicked things off with a three on Cleveland's first possession, spurring a 24-5 run to start the quarter, staking the Cavs to a 75-56 lead.

Sacramento scored eight straight to cut the deficit to 75-64, but the Cavs answered with an 11-2 run, taking an 86-66 lead on a Pavlovic alley-oop dunk with seven seconds left in the quarter.

John Salmons hit a three for Sacramento at the buzzer, but the Kings still trailed 86-69 entering the fourth quarter.

The Kings never threatened down the stretch, trailing by at least 15 points for the entire fourth quarter.

'I could mention everybody,' said Cavs head coach Mike Brown. 'It was an entire group that played the right way on both ends that helped us get this win.'

The Cavs led, 25-19, after the first quarter.

Artest and Bibby netted 10 points each in the second quarter, helping Sacramento erase the Cleveland lead. A Bibby jumper in the final seconds of the half tied the game at 51 entering the break.

Game Notes

Cleveland improved to 3-0 this season when playing without James, who missed two games in January with a sprained right big toe. The Cavs are a surprising 9-2 when James has had to sit during his career...Cleveland dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Kings 51-33.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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