NEW YORK, 17 December 2005 — A battered LeBron James scored 26 points to outshine red-hot Carmelo Anthony as the Cleveland Cavaliers eased past the Denver Nuggets 94-85 on Thursday, snapping a season-high three-game losing streak.
James, who injured his shin in the opening half and played the rest of the contest with his leg heavily wrapped, failed to score at least 30 points for the first time in six games, but got plenty of support with five of his teammates hitting double figures.
Damon Jones contributed 17 points to the Cleveland cause while Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and Donyell Marshall had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Anthony, coming off a career high 42-point performance against the Charlotte Bobcats, was held to 23 points while Greg Buckner had 15 in the loss for the Nuggets, who played without injured Marcus Camby and Earl Boykins.
The Cavaliers led 24-19 after the first quarter and 44-40 going into the intermission.
But the Nuggets continued to battle, trimming the deficit to a single point at 65-64 entering the final quarter. With just over seven minutes to play the Nuggets edged ahead 72-71 before the Cavaliers responded with a 13-4 run to put the contest out of reach.
In Minneapolis, Michael Finley scored 21 points and Tim Duncan had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the San Antonio Spurs held on to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 90-88. Kevin Garnett poured in a game-high 24 points and pulled down 21 rebounds but it was not enough as the Timberwolves took third straight loss.
In Seattle, Tracy McGrady poured in 34 points and dished out eight assists and Yao Ming chipped in with 26 points and 10 rebounds as the streaking Houston Rockets quieted the SuperSonics 104-98, extending their win streak to five games.
China’s Yao Leads West Vote Getters for All-Star Game
China’s Yao Ming is the leading Western Conference vote-getter with 729,178 votes after the first returns of the 2006 NBA All-Star balloting program, announced Thursday.
Tracy McGrady leads forward in voting from fans around the world who are responsible for picking the starters for the 55th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Houston on Feb. 19.
The Rockets (8-12) are in last place in the Southwest Division due in part to a back injury that has forced McGrady to miss eight games.
Yao is a three-time All-Star averaging a career-high 19.5 points and 9.10 rebounds and McGrady is averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. A five-time All-Star, McGrady has garnered 600,507 votes and is followed by Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett with 469,497.
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is the top vote-getter among Western Conference guards with 664,744 with reigning league Most Valuable Player Steve Nash second with 562,846. Cleveland forward LeBron James is the leader among Eastern Conference players with 665,849 votes, 19,764 more than Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal.
Artest Slapped With Fine After Making Trade Demand
Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers was fined $10,000 for making public statements detrimental to the National Basketball Association after expressing his desire to be traded, an NBA official revealed on Thursday.
Artest made the comments in an interview published in the Indianapolis Star on Sunday and concerned the forward’s request to be traded to another team, preferably the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers.
