| Allen Iverson 25pts Melo vs Lebron James Cavaliers NBA |
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One NBA player lords over LeBron James.
Carmelo Anthony rules Cleveland's hoops King.
"I know he hates losing to me," Anthony said
with a laugh.
Anthony scored 27 points, All-Star sidekick
Allen Iverson added 25 and the Denver Nuggets
rolled to a 113-83 win Sunday night over the
injury-depleted Cavaliers.
Anthony, who got to rest in the fourth
quarter, improved to 8-2 in his pro career
against good friend James, who scored 30
points -- in three quarters -- but got little
help from a Cleveland team missing four key
players, including two starters.
Though shorthanded, the Cavs have been able
to get by playing good defense and came in
16-5 since Dec. 25. But from the opening tip
on they didn't do nearly enough to slow the
Nuggets, who handed Cleveland its worst home
loss since April 5, 2005.
Denver led by 11 points after one quarter, 18
at halftime and pushed its advantage to 26 by
the end of the third. At the end of that
period, James stormed off the court, took a
seat at the far end of Cleveland's bench and
didn't take part in coach Mike Brown's huddle
before the fourth quarter began.
"It was definitely frustrating," James said.
"We know we can play better. It was one game.
That's something we can fix."
As a displeased James sat alone on the bench
and stared straight ahead, Cavaliers guard
Damon Jones let his teammates know that their
performance was unacceptable by yelling at
all of them.
"I just think something had to be said at
that point," Jones said. "No big thing."
Although he was looking in James' direction,
Jones said his comments were intended for
everyone wearing white jerseys.
"In those situations you have to band
together as a team. I wasn't singling anybody
out," Jones said. "Everybody, including
myself, we have to find ways to fight through
situations like that."
James didn't play in the fourth quarter when
the Cavs fell behind by 37 and played all
their reserves.
Anthony, coming off a 49-point performance in
a win against Washington, went 11-of-19 from
the floor and added eight rebounds in 32
minutes. He, too, spent the fourth quarter on
the sideline, savoring Denver's fifth
straight win over Cleveland.
"It was one of the most complete games we've
had," Anthony said. "We didn't come in here
expecting a blowout, but that's what
happened."
Iverson added 13 assists and Marcus Camby 17
rebounds for Denver, which shot 63 percent in
the first quarter.
"We jumped on them from the beginning,"
Iverson said. "We took advantage of the shots
they were missing. We were able to do
everything right on both ends of the floor."
The Cavaliers were again a shell of
themselves as injuries continued to plague
the Eastern Conference champions.
Drew Gooden missed his third game in a row
with a strained right groin and Daniel
Gibson, the team's top long-range shooter,
sat out his second straight because of a
strained hamstring. On top of that, Cleveland
didn't have forward Anderson Varejao
(sprained ankle) or swingman Sasha Pavlovic
(sprained foot).
Also, Jones went to the locker room in the
fourth quarter with a sprained ankle and
center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was also forced to
spend the final 12 minutes getting treatment
for back spasms.
The Cavs, however, were hurting long before
that.
Denver led 63-45 at halftime and quickly
upped its lead to 23 after Iverson opened the
third quarter with a 3-pointer and Kenyon
Martin scored inside. James helped trim
Denver's lead to 15, but Iverson and Anthony
never relaxed and the Nuggets pushed their
lead to 90-64 entering the fourth.
The Nuggets beat the Cavs 122-100 earlier
this season.
"It's disappointing they whooped our behinds
twice like this," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.
"I don't think we can look in the mirror and
say we fought tonight."
Denver coach George Karl took his team's
lopsided win in stride, knowing the Cavaliers
weren't at full strength.
"They're so banged up and beat up," he said.
"They couldn't make a shot and we had an
easier game because we did some good things.
It was one of those games where can go home
and say we played, but they were shorthanded
too."
Game notes
James was pleased Anthony was named a starter
for next weekend's All-Star Game, the first
time Denver's forward has gotten the nod.
"People realize he's one of the best players
in our league, definitely one of the best
scorers," James said. "It took five years to
finally get the opportunity." ... Nuggets big
man Steven Hunter missed his second straight
game with a sore right knee. ... Gibson's
injury could keep him out of next weekend's
All-Star activities in New Orleans. He's
scheduled to play in the rookie-sophomore
challenge and 3-point shootout. ... Pavlovic,
who could miss two months, is scheduled to
have a cast removed in the next few days.
"Finally," he said. "I'm sick of it."
Tags : allen iverson kobe bryant lebron james wade o'neal jordan kidd pierce carter anthony marbury mcgrady nba mix ad |
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Affichage : 70013
Durée : 499 s |
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