38-1 at home: Cavaliers down Wizards 98-86

[April 09, 2009]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- On their way to the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave the Washington Wizards something to savor for summer.

LeBron James scored 21 points before spending the fourth quarter playing air guitar on the bench as the Cavs avenged an embarrassing loss to one of the league's weaker teams by thumping the rival Wizards 98-86 on Wednesday night to improve to 38-1 at home.

With the win, the Cavs became the first team in NBA history to have two 15-game winning streaks at home in the same season. If Cleveland can beat Boston (Sunday) and Philadelphia (next Wednesday) in its final two games at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs will match the 1985-86 Celtics, whose 40-1 home mark is the league's all-time best.

Mo Williams scored 14 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 rebounds for the Cavs.

Nick Young scored 16 to lead the Wizards, who stunned Cleveland last week and handed the Cavs two of their 15 losses this season. Washington's Gilbert Arenas didn't play, choosing to rest his surgically repaired right knee.

Cleveland's only loss on its home court came against the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 8. The Cavs weren't about to let the Wizards hand them No. 2.

They jumped out to an early 13-point lead and were never threatened while moving to 23-4 since the All-Star break. Up by 11 at halftime, the Cavs blitzed the Wizards 13-4 to start the third, built a 24-point lead and coasted. Washington only made the score respectable in extended garbage time.

Cleveland's Ben Wallace was back for the first time since breaking his right leg on Feb. 26 against Houston. Wallace didn't start, ending his steak of 766 straight games in the first unit. He had started every game he'd been healthy for since April 13, 1999, when he came off the bench for Orlando against the Cavs.

When Wallace's dunk made it 89-69 in the fourth, James came on to the floor, dropped to one knee and windmilled in celebration like a guitar hero.

With four games left, the Cavaliers still have a lot to play for.

They need one more win -- or a loss by Boston -- to clinch the top record in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Cleveland is also trying to wrap up the best overall record, which would give them four home games if they make it to the finals.

The Cavs lead the idle Los Angeles Lakers by one game for the top record.

With Arenas and Brendan Haywood back in the lineup last week, and a Washington crowd fired up at seeing their team finally healthy, the Wizards shocked the Cavaliers 109-101. The next night, Cleveland got drubbed by 29 points at Orlando.

Since then, though, Cleveland has been back on its game in consecutive wins over San Antonio and Washington.

It's no secret the Cavs and Wizards don't like each other.

This will be the first time in four seasons they haven't met in the playoffs. Last year's matchup featured a handful of hard fouls and James' back-and-forth dispute with Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson, a silly rift that eventually involved rappers Jay-Z and Soulja Boy.

James usually greets opposing players with warm with hugs and handshakes before lining up for the opening tip. But there were no warm-and-fuzzy moments with the Wizards, who even mocked the Cavs during pregame introductions as center Andray Blatche mimicked James' dust-blowing ritual.

Notes: With rookie F J.J. Hickson expected to miss two to three weeks with a sore back, the Cavaliers will sign F Jawad Williams on Thursday. Williams appeared in nine games for the club earlier this season. He has been playing with Rio Grande of the NBA's Developmental League. Williams was in Cleveland's locker room before the game. ... Cavs coach Mike Brown doesn't expect the Wizards to be down long. "They'll definitely be back in the playoffs next year and be a force to reckon with," he said. ... Young had played only one minute in Washington's previous game because of a sprained left knee.

[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]

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