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Tuesday, Dec. 14 7:30pm ET
Cavs hand Celtics 7th straight road loss | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Mark Bryant legs wobbled and he gasped for breath. When he finally reached the Cavs bench, the reserve center looked like he might collapse. "I sure did run out of gas," Bryant said. "I'm not going to fake it. But I was happy to be out there." Pressed into more playing time with Shawn Kemp in foul trouble, Bryant scored 12 points and Bob Sura had 22 points and 10 assists Tuesday night as the Cavaliers sent Boston to its seventh straight road loss with a 115-88 rout of the Celtics. With Kemp in foul trouble almost from the outset, Bryant controlled the middle for Cleveland. "My job was to hold things together until the big fella came back," said Bryant, whose 24 minutes were 10 more than usual. "One thing this team needs to do is cut down on fouls, 'cause we're one fouling team. Man!" Kemp played just 16 minutes and scored 16 points. Wesley Person added 15 points for the Cavs, who had six players in double figures and made 23 of 24 free throws. Rookie guard Andre Miller had a season-high nine assists and Brevin Knight had eight. "I thought that was one of our best performances of the year from an all-around basketball standpoint," Cavs coach Randy Wittman said. "Defensively, offensively, playing together, covering each other, rebounding, running. That's our best effort of the year." Sura, perhaps the league's most improved player this season, added pair of 3-pointers and six rebounds in 41 minutes. Once a target of fan abuse, Sura was given a standing ovation when he was replaced late in the game. "I've been on quite a roll," said Sura. "I just want to keep it going." Boston, playing without leading scorer Paul Pierce, got 16 points apiece from Adrian Griffin and Tony Battie and 13 from Eric Williams. Pierce is out for two weeks with a sprained ankle. "I was worried about this one," said Celtics coach Rick Pitino. "We didn't have a lot of offensive firepower and you have to stay close on the road. Especially in the situation we're in right now." The Cavs, who blew a 15-point lead and lost at Boston last month, didn't let a 20-point lead slip away this time and won for the sixth time in their last seven home games. Cleveland never let Boston get inside 10 points in the second half, and when the Celtics pulled within 12 at 83-71 on Griffin's 3-pointer, the Cavs responded with a 9-0 run. Person scored seven points in the burst and later hit a 3 to give the Cavs a 104-81 lead. The Cavs have given away their share of big leads this season, allowing teams to come back and beat them. "This time when they threatened us in the second half we responded," Sura said. "We need to keep doing that." With Sura scoring 13 points and the Cavs getting easy layups, Cleveland opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter and pushed it to 20 early in the second on Person's 3-pointer. However, the Celtics finally began to find their range and used a late 16-6 spurt to pull within 51-41 at halftime.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Boston Clubhouse Cleveland Clubhouse RECAPS Utah 101 Washington 80
Cleveland 115
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