James' triple-double helps Cavs beat Wizards to end series

[May 03, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- LeBron James was everywhere and did a little bit of everything. And, just as he seems to do every spring, he led the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards in the first round of the playoffs.

James compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double, all the while helping slow Caron Butler at the defensive end, and the Cavaliers beat the Wizards 105-88 on Friday night to end their contentious series in six games.

It was the third consecutive season that the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards - ending each of those series on Washington's home floor.

Cleveland, which reached the NBA finals a year ago, now faces Boston or Atlanta. The Celtics took a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 of that series Friday night.

James didn't do it alone, of course. He was passive early, with twice as many assists (four) as shot attempts (two) in the first quarter. That allowed his teammates to get in a rhythm, and two contributed more than 20 points: Wally Szczerbiak with a career playoff-best 26 and reserve Daniel Gibson with 22, combining for 10 of Cleveland's 11 3-pointers.

But as always, James was the catalyst for the Cavs. These simple stats say it all: His triple-double was accomplished before the third quarter was over, and he dished out more assists than the entire Wizards team (11).

He also picked up a technical on the last play of the first half, complaining about a non-call on a teammate's shot. Butler took the resulting foul shot at the beginning of the third quarter and missed - reflective of how things went for him and the Wizards.

The T on James was one of three called in a fittingly rough-at-times finale to a series that featured plenty of trash talk, hard fouls, one ejection and one suspension: Washington reserve forward Darius Songaila was barred from Friday's game by the NBA for hitting James in the face in Game 5.

Washington won that game Wednesday at Cleveland 88-87, led by Butler's 32 points on 50 percent shooting.

Before the opening tipoff Friday, Butler was alone on the court, skipping and waving a hand in the air, encouraging the fans in a sellout crowd of 20,173 to twirl their white towels. Then, taking a breather with Washington leading by six points in the second quarter, the two-time All-Star stood on the sideline and spun his warmup shirt overhead.

But on the court, Butler didn't have nearly as much pep. He entered the third quarter only 2-for-9 for seven points with zero assists or steals, and finished the night with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 15 rebounds.

The Cavaliers were ahead 56-48 at halftime, thanks in large part to a 15-0 run during the second quarter and 7-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers. The Wizards? They were 3-for-12 on 3s to that point.

It never really got competitive in the second half, and it didn't help matters for Washington that it didn't manage a fourth-quarter basket until Butler made one 3 1/2 minutes in.

The Wizards didn't learn about Songaila's punishment until after their morning shootaround. That left Washington coach Eddie Jordan with a seven-man rotation, because he already was without Gilbert Arenas, of course. The three-time All-Star guard ruled himself out for the rest of the season before Game 5 because of his surgically repaired left knee.

Arenas held up Songaila's No. 9 jersey on the sideline, then set it down on a chair in tribute. Some fans in the stands raised signs reading, "Free Darius."

Notes:@ Szczerbiak's previous career high for the playoffs was 25. ... This was the 30th game between these teams since 2005-06, counting preseason, regular season and postseason. The Cavaliers hold an 18-12 edge. "We play them a lot. You almost know the hotel personnel by name, you know? 'Good to see you again. Good to see you again.' For some bizarre reason, we keep running into each other," Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "It's good and bad. Good, because we know each other so there's not much surprises. But at the same time, there's some bad blood." ... Arenas said before Friday's game he'd be getting his left knee drained of excess fluid.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD FENDRICH]

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