Apr

14

Cavaliers Defeat Pacers 117-109; Assured Top Spot In Association

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap 

Monday night at Conseco Fieldhouse must have felt somewhat surreal to Cleveland Cavaliers veteran center Zydrunas Ilgauskas as his club defeated the Indiana Pacers 117-109. The victory clinched home court advantage for Cleveland throughout the course of the Post Season. Z has now gone from a team that at 17-65 in 2003 that was the joke of the Association to the pinnacle in this campaign.

Of course this is just the first step in getting that 5,000 pound gorilla off the city of Cleveland’s collective back. That will happen if the Cavaliers can top off their regular season success with an NBA Title; it would be the first for the city since the Cleveland Browns were crowned Champions of the NFL in 1964.

The player who has been the impetus of the turnaround of the Cavaliers LeBron James was naturally the spark behind this latest win as the “Chosen One” led his club with 37 points. Ilgauskas the last vestige from that long ago era had a strong night for Cleveland as he recorded a double-double in the win. Cleveland had nailed down the top spot in the Eastern Conference last week.

Both teams kept it close in the first quarter as the Pacers took a razor thin 27-26 lead at the end of the period. Indiana led for a good portion of the second however LBJ would knock down a shot 8 feet from the bucket with 5:22 to play and gave his team a 42-41 edge. The Cavaliers would hold the advantage for the rest of the quarter and walked into the locker room at the half on top 62-47.

Rookie guard Brandon Rush would get the Pacers back within 5 points at 79-74 with 1:39 left to play in the third as he drove the lane putting the rock up and in the hoop. Cleveland however would keep hold of the lead as the period drew to a close with the score Cleveland 91 Indiana 84. The Pacers would never close the gap to less than 5 points in the final 12 minutes of play.

LeBron James had 37 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal while Delonte West dropped 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Mo Williams scored 18 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds while Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks and 1 steal.

Danny Granger led all players with 38 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 1 assist while Brandon Rush added 27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. Troy Murphy recorded a double-double 17 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals while T.J. Ford came off the bench with 10 points, 2 assists and 2 steals. Cleveland now has the best record in the NBA at 66-15, they have their final game Wednesday night at home. Indiana falls to 35-46 after the loss.

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