Sun Apr 13 20:54:36 2008

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West is best as Cavs beat up on lowly Heat

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Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Delonte West scored a game-high 18 points to lead a balanced attack in Cleveland's 84-76 comeback victory over the league doormat Miami Heat.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas recorded 14 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds to help Cleveland extended its lead for the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race to two games over the Washington Wizards.

The Cavs haven't sewn up home-court advantage in the first round because both Cleveland and Washington have two games remaining. Washington holds the second tiebreak after splitting the season series with a one-game advantage in overall conference record.

LeBron James only netted three field goals, but produced a solid all-around effort with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Devin Brown and Anderson Varejao added 10 points apiece for the victors.

Miami dropped its eighth straight as a visitor and has dropped nine of 10 overall. Ricky Davis hit four three-pointers en route to dropping 17 points and seven assists, while Daequan Cook and Earl Barron chipped in 13 points each.

Trailing by two after three quarter of play, Cleveland pounded the ball inside to Ilgauskas and Varejao. When the two weren't hitting mid-range jumpers and layups, the duo was getting sent to the line where they continually connected from the stripe.

A pair of James free throws at the 4:36 mark put Cleveland ahead, 75-63 and Miami was cooked.

A Davis three-pointer with just over 2 1/2 minutes to play cut the lead to six, but the Heat would get no closer than five the rest of the way.

After Miami led 21-19 heading into the second quarter, the Cavaliers stepped up their intensity. Offensive rebounds and solid defense spearheaded an 11-2 run midway through the quarter to put Cleveland ahead, 35-28.

West hit two three-pointers during the stretch, but the Heat showed some fortitude by scoring the final five points of the half to trail just 40-38 at the break.

Both teams were cold in the third quarter, but Miami hit five free throws and Davis nailed two threes during the stanza to push ahead of Cleveland, 59-57.

Game Notes

Cleveland is 27-13 at home this season, while Miami is just 6-34 on the road...Miami has not beaten a team over .500 since defeating Utah, 104-102 back on December 22...Barron pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for Miami...Cleveland held a 53-33 edge on the glass...Cleveland has a game at Philadelphia on Monday and finishes up its campaign with a home game against Detroit on Wednesday.