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Manu Ginobili scored 31 points for the Spurs, and Tony Parker added 23 points but missed two free throws with 29.4 seconds to play that would have tied the game at 90.
Tim Duncan scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which has now lost four games at home and dropped to 5-5 in their last 10 overall.
The Spurs swept the Cavaliers 4-0 in June's finals.
A goaltending call against James, who was coming off a season-high 51 points against Memphis, gave the Spurs an 86-85 lead with 1:34 to play, but Daniel Gibson's 3-pointer put Cleveland ahead.
Duncan tied it at 88 before James' basket gave the Cavs a 90-88 lead with 33.6 seconds left. Parker, with a chance to tie, missed his two free throws and Ginobili's last-second attempt didn't fall.
The Spurs jumped out to a nine-point lead early and extended it to 10 early in the second quarter.
But the Cavaliers, behind Ilgauskas and Varejao, who scored nine and eight points in the quarter, respectively, went on a 17-2 run to go up 43-33 with 3:38 left in the quarter.
Only Ginobili, with 10 points in the second period, kept the Spurs afloat.
Cleveland, up 50-43 at halftime, took the lead with 7:30 left in the second quarter
-- and kept it until about halfway through the fourth quarter -- off Damon Jones' fast break layup that broke a 31-all tie.
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The Cavs extended their lead to eight points at 73-65 by the end of a third quarter in which the teams largely traded baskets, allowing Cleveland to keep San Antonio at bay.
Down 73-65 heading into the final quarter, Ginobili scored eight straight for the Spurs to open the period and bring San Antonio within 77-73. Spurs guard Brent Barry, in his first game since tearing a calf muscle in late December, scored his first points of the night on a 3-pointer that made it 77-76.
Parker's fast break to the rim with 6:42 left closed the Spurs' 13-4 run and gave them their first lead, 78-77, since 8:06 remained in the second quarter.
Barry's second 3 gave San Antonio another lead at 81-79 before Ilgauskas tied it at 81 with 5:08 to play.
Notes: Barry missed nine games with a torn muscle in his left calf. He logged 15 minutes and scored six points. ... The Cavs swept both games against the Spurs last season and now have a four-game regular-season winning streak against San Antonio. ... The Cavaliers outrebounded San Antonio 45-50, but the teams were nearly even on points in the paint (30 each), assists (18 each) and fast-break points (15-14 Spurs).
[Associated Press; By ELIZABETH WHITE]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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