James, Cavs rock Wizards

[February 04, 2010]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James piled up 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in just three quarters and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to a 121-98 win over the Washington Wizards, who watched troubled guard Gilbert Arenas leave them indefinitely on Wednesday.

Shaquille O'Neal added 17 points in 17 minutes as the Cavs posted a season-high for points and won for the 13th time in 15 games.

The Wizards ended a long, draining day with a lopsided loss.

They played for the first time this season without Arenas, who was suspended indefinitely a few hours before the opening tip by NBA commissioner David Stern. Calling the gregarious guard's recent behavior "not currently fit to take the court," Stern disciplined Arenas while he's being investigated by federal and local authorities after admittedly bringing unloaded guns to Washington's locker room.

Antawn Jamison scored 26 points and Randy Foye 18 for the Wizards. Earl Boykins started for Arenas, whose 22.6 points per game will be missed.

Arenas was suspended without pay by Stern, whom the Wizards guard had dubbed "mean" following Tuesday night's game in Philadelphia. Stern probably didn't appreciate that remark or some of Arenas' other antics, which included being photographed pointing his index fingers, as if they were guns, at his teammates and his overall nonchalance about the serious matter.

The Wizards arrived at Quicken Loans Arena already missing Arenas, who had traveled with them to Cleveland before learning of his suspension. The team got off its bus and promptly had to walk through a metal detector, an ironic reminder of what led to their teammate's' troubles.

Coach Flip Saunders understood Stern's ruling.

"There's no question when you have a situation or incident that happened, he has to take action," Saunders said. "You can't worry about players you don't have, through injuries or whatever. You have to worry about the players you do have. Those guys are professional. We have to go out and perform at a high level."

Perhaps exhausted by the day's emotions and back-to-back games, the Wizards came out flat and fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter before cutting it to six. They clearly missed Arenas, who had played well since the alleged argument with teammate Jarvis Crittendon had led to the gun incident. Washington's offense was not in sync and the Wizards only had 43 points at half.

The Cavs exploited a size mismatch in the second quarter by pounding the ball inside to O'Neal, who scored 13 points in the period to give Cleveland a 22-point halftime lead.

The Wizards trimmed it 11 in the third quarter, but Anthony Parker hit a pair of 3-pointers and James drained a deep one to push the Cavs' lead to 97-78. Cleveland coach Mike Brown emptied his bench in the fourth quarter, giving James and most of Cleveland's other starters some rest.

NOTES: James was named Eastern Conference player of the month in December after averaging 28.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists and leading the Cavs to a 14-3 record. ... With Cavs F Jamario Moon out three weeks with an abdominal strain, G Daniel Gibson figured to get more minutes but coach Brown instead gave them to Jawad Williams, who played 28. ... Washington has dropped five of six.

[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]

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