Cleveland held Atlanta scoreless for nearly nine minutes in the fourth quarter on Tuesday en route to a 95-84 victory over the team they swept in last year's NBA play-offs. Mo Williams led Cleveland with 20 points as the Cavaliers returned to the arena where they completed their four-game sweep of the Hawks in last season's play-off second round. Delonte West had 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas came off the bench to score 15 for the Cavaliers. LeBron James had 14 points, 10 assists and five steals, making just six of his 20 shots from the field.
The Cavaliers have held three straight opponents to less than 90 points. "That's what we do," James said. Defensively, we lock down in the fourth quarter." Kevin Durant was again the star for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they beat the Washington Wizards 110-98 for a fourth straight win. Durant, who scored 40 points in Monday's win at New Jersey, recorded 35 on Tuesday as the Thunder claimed a ninth road win of the season.
David Lee scored 30 points to help the New York Knicks to a 104-87 win over the Detroit Pistons, while the Chicago Bulls beat the visiting Indiana Pacers 104-95. The Bulls led by 19 points after the first quarter and, despite almost letting that cushion slip in the second, held on for the win, with Derrick Rose scoring 28 points. David West scored 44 of the New Orleans Hornets' 100 points, but still ended up on the losing side as his team went down 108-100 to the Houston Rockets.
The San Antonio Spurs enjoyed a comfortable 117-99 win at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the LA Lakers overcame a half-time deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 124-118, with Kobe Bryant scoring 44 points. * With agencies