Spurs shut down LeBron's Cavs, 102-76 Updated: 2005-11-05 16:00
Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the San
Antonio Spurs shut down LeBron James over the final three quarters of a 102-76
victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James (23) maneuvers to the basket against San Antonio Spurs Tim
Duncan during the second half in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 4, 2005.
[AP] |
The Spurs outscored the Cavaliers 62-32 in the paint and went 10-for-17 from
3-point range.
Cleveland (1-1) scored only 31 points in the second half on 10-for-43
shooting. James had 10 points in the first quarter, matching his total for the
rest of the game.
Tony Parker had 18 points and eight assists for the Spurs (2-0), while Bruce
Bowen — who shadowed James on defense — made all three of his 3-pointers and
finished with 12 points.
Up five points at halftime, the Spurs broke the game open in the third
quarter at both ends of the floor.
Bowen hit two 3-pointers and Duncan added four quick baskets as San Antonio
went on an 18-7 run to start the quarter.
At the defensive end, the Spurs limited Cleveland to four baskets in the
period while extending their lead to as many as 21 points. After a 3-pointer by
Larry Hughes and a jumper by James, the Cavs missed 13 of their next 14 shots,
most of them in the paint.
San Antonio shot 13-for-21 in the decisive quarter, including 4-for-6 on
3-pointers.
James scored 20 points for Cleveland on 7-for-16 shooting, while Drew Gooden
added 14 and Hughes 11. Donyell Marshall had 10 rebounds.
A 3-pointer by Manu Ginobili with 3:36 remaining in the half gave San Antonio
a 42-41 lead, and he followed with a short fadeaway jumper. Parker added two
layups and Duncan a tip-in to build the Spurs' lead to 50-43 in the final
minute.
The Spurs have beaten Cleveland 16 straight times at home. The last time San
Antonio lost a regular-season home game to the Cavs was in December 1988. ...
Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry, assistant GM Lance Blanks and reserve
guard Mike Wilks, all with the Spurs last season, received their 2005
championship rings before the tipoff. ... Duncan had one block, leaving him
seven short of 1,500 for his career. ... After scoring 11 key points in the
final quarter of San Antonio's opening-night win, Michael Finley went 1-for-6.
... James, who went 6-for-7 on 3-pointers in the opening win over New Orleans,
missed all three behind the arc.
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