SAN ANTONIO (AP)—LeBron James had 30 points and 14 rebounds before taking it easy on the Cleveland bench in the fourth quarter, and the Cavaliers shook off a terrible start to their road trip with a 97-86 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
One night after losing Ben Wallace to a broken leg and shooting a season-worst 34 percent against Houston, Cleveland regained the look of an Eastern Conference leader in a flat rematch of the 2007 NBA Finals.
James was 12-of-23 from the floor in 32 minutes. He also had four assists after being shutout in that category Thursday night for the first time in his career.
Tony Parker, who averaged 38 points the last two games, led San Antonio with 11. Tim Duncan missed his third consecutive game for San Antonio with a right quad injury but is expected to return as soon as Sunday.
Delonte West added 17 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 for Cleveland, which will resume its four-game road swing Sunday at Atlanta. They’ll do so without Wallace, who is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking his right fibula in a 93-74 loss to the Rockets on Thursday.
Roger Mason had 10 points for the Spurs, who had their four-game win streak snapped and were denied a three-game home sweep.
Parker was just 3-of-16 from the floor, and the Spurs had few other scorers to turn to with Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the bench in street clothes.
Duncan hasn’t played since being unable to shake a stiff knee just before Tuesday’s victory over Dallas. He showed no signs of pain while shooting jumpers at a morning workout, and doctors gave the green light to Duncan’s wishes to return Friday.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wasn’t on board, though. Flatly saying that Duncan is “too important to us,” Popovich chose to rest him another night and said his big man would probably return Sunday at Portland or Monday at the Los Angeles Clippers.
It will still be at least another week before the Spurs get back Ginobili, who continues to sit out with a stress reaction in his right ankle.
Shorthanded all week, Parker scored a combined 76 points to carry the Spurs in victories over Dallas and Portland. But Cleveland wasn’t a one-man job.
The Cavs pulled away early with a 13-0 run in the first quarter fueled, in part, by James running away for an open-court dunk that had the sold-out crowd jumping from their seats and their camera flashes twinkling before James even lifted off.
Five turnovers in the first quarter by the typically careful Spurs—their 12.1 turnover average entering the game ranked second—helped Cleveland build a 27-13 lead. It ended with William hitting a buzzer-beating jumper and Spurs forward Bruce Bowen winding up and spiking the ball down in frustration.
James closed the first quarter with 15 points and an assist—something he didn’t record Thursday against Houston for the first time in his 494-game NBA career.
The Spurs closed the gap to seven at halftime, only to offer little resistance as Cleveland’s lead ballooned to 21 at the end of the third quarter.
James sat out to start the fourth and didn’t return. He didn’t need to.
He instead watched his teammates put the finishing touches on improving to 19-4 against the Western Conference, the best mark of any team in the East. The Cavaliers also did it in their usually convincing fashion, winning their 32nd game by at least 10 points.
Daniel Gibson added 10 points off the bench for the Cavaliers.
Notes
It must be TGIF for Cleveland: The Cavaliers are 12-0 when playing Friday, the only day they have an unblemished record. … Even though Ginobili isn’t practicing for the Spurs, Popovich said his standout sixth man is getting plenty of time on the treadmill. Ginobili was expected to miss up to three weeks when he was diagnosed Feb. 19. “By the time it’s over, he’ll probably lose 30 pounds,” Popovich joked before the game.
