James leads Cavs to 10th straight win

[December 11, 2008]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- LeBron James scored 29 points, Mo Williams added a season-high 27 and the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to their 10th consecutive victory, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 101-93 on Wednesday night.

Anderson Varejao added 15 points, and Ben Wallace had 10 rebounds for the Central Division-leading Cavaliers, 18-1 in their last 19 games, 19-3 overall and 7-3 on the road. They are one win shy of tying the franchise record of 11 straight wins set during the 1988-89 season.

Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 27 points for the 76ers.

Andre Miller added 22, and Lou Williams had 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Philadelphia. The 76ers have dropped two straight and seven of nine to fall to 9-13. Elton Brand had 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which also has lost five consecutive home games.

A larger-than-usual crowd of 15,550, many of whom donned Cavaliers attire with James' No. 23, watched Cleveland build a 21-point advantage at 84-63 on a layup by Delonte West with 4 seconds left in the third quarter.

Cleveland began the third with an 18-3 run to take a 66-49 lead. During the spurt, the Sixers missed 12 of their 14 field goals.

The Cavaliers built an 84-65 advantage after the third quarter. When the buzzer sounded, a large number of fans booed the Sixers as they headed back to their bench.

The boos continued throughout the fourth as the Cavaliers steadily maintained a comfortable lead. But Cleveland may something to worry about after starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas limped to the locker room with 9:39 left in the fourth with a sprained left ankle. He did not return.

Philadelphia did stage a late rally to get within 95-89 on two free throws by Miller with two minutes remaining.

Williams responded with a baseline jumper and Wallace slammed home a James miss for a commanding 99-89 lead.

The Cavaliers trailed by as many as six points early but rallied for a 48-46 lead at halftime. James and Williams shot a combined 13-of-17 in the first half.

Notes: Eagles running back Brian Westbrook was courtside along with Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Flyers center Mike Richards and boxer Bernard Hopkins. ... The Sixers missed 10 consecutive field goals at one stretch in the first half. ... Cleveland, which is 12-0 at home, will host the Sixers on Friday night. ... G Willie Green started in place of F Thaddeus Young for the Sixers.

[Associated Press]

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