CLEVELAND, 20 October 2004 — Jeff McInnis scored 22 points, Drew Gooden had 15 rebounds and LeBron James had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to an 88-69 exhibition win over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night.
McInnis scored 14 points and James got all 10 of his during the third quarter when the Cavaliers’ starting unit dominated, pulled away and spent the fourth watching from the bench.
Gooden had his third straight double-digit rebounding game for Cleveland, which his counting on him for boards following Carlos Boozer’s departure as a free agent.
Rodney Buford and Travis Best had nine points each for New Jersey, which shot just 36 percent and was outrebounded 48-32.
The Nets were again without All-Star guard Jason Kidd and center Alonzo Mourning. Kidd is recovering from off-season surgery on his left knee, and Mourning hasn’t played during the preseason as comes back after a kidney transplant.
Leading by 14 points at the half, Cleveland opened the third quarter with a 14-5 spurt to a 55-32 lead. James made a steal and breakaway reverse dunk before McInnis drained a 3-pointer to make it 55-32.
James added a spectacular windmill dunk from the right side in the period, which ended with the Cavaliers up 71-46.
Heat 92 Hawks 82: In Miami, Shaquille O’Neal swatted away Boris Diaw’s layup to preserve a 26-point lead, then waved into a nearby television camera the moment he landed on his feet. O’Neal found a few ways to say hello to his new city, dominating so much in the early going that he was able to sit out almost an entire half of a 92-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
It was O’Neal’s one and only appearance at the American Airlines Arena during the preseason, and he decided to play after missing the Heat’s two previous games with a sore hamstring. The game drew a near-sellout crowd of 18,454, and the Heat even had fans in the fourth-level balcony — a section of the arena that was closed and curtained off for 40 of their 41 home games last season.
“You’re in October, it’s NBA preseason basketball and there’s usually not a lot of excitement anywhere for preseason basketball,” Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But because of the acquisition of Shaquille, we’ve got the excitement of a regular-season opener here, which is great for the city.”
O’Neal finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes. He addressed the crowd prior to the opening tip-off, thanking those who purchased season tickets and telling everyone he was “Glad to be here.” O’Neal also was glad to see overmatched fourth-year center Jason Collier trying to stop him, scoring nine of Miami’s first 11 points — all from very short range.
