NBA Game Summary - Cleveland at Indiana

Indianapolis, IN (Basketball News) - Zydrunas Ilgauskas calmly sank two free throws with 41.6 seconds left to put Cleveland in front for good, as the Cavaliers defeated the short-handed Indiana Pacers, 93-89, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Ilgauskas tallied 27 points, including a 15-of-16 effort from the charity stripe, while LeBron James paced the Cavs with 30 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Ilgauskas made 12-of-12 from the foul line in the fourth stanza and the club connected on 24-of-32 foul shots for the contest.

Eric Snow added nine points for Cleveland, which continued its stellar play with its fourth straight victory.

The feisty Pacers almost stole a victory behind a gallant effort from a squad which dressed just nine players. Jeff Foster sat out with back spasms and Jamaal Tinsley continued to miss time with a sore right elbow.

On Wednesday, Ron Artest was sent to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Peja Stojakovic, who is averaging just 16.5 points per game this season, his lowest scoring output since the 1999-2000 campaign. The three-time All-Star is shooting just 40 percent from the floor and has been slowed by various injuries.

Stojakovic watched the contest in street clothes and star forward Jermaine O’Neal also did not play after tearing his groin during a loss to the same Cavaliers on Tuesday. O’Neal is expected to miss at least eight weeks.

Danny Granger poured in a career-high 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Fred Jones contributed 20 points and Sarunas Jasikevicius netted 14, both off the bench.

Stephen Jackson also tallied 14 points and David Harrison added 10 points in Indiana’s fifth consecutive setback.

Cleveland was in control for the better part of the contest, before Indiana mounted a charge in the fourth quarter.

Indiana took its first lead of the game, 81-80, on Granger’s trey with 6:02 remaining and Ilgauskas began his parade to the foul line with two free throws at 5:06 to put the Cavs back in front.

Jones made two jumpers sandwiched around Ilgauskas’ layup, then Harrison’s jump hook gave Indiana an 87-84 lead with 1:58 left. Cleveland made five straight free throws, four by Ilgauskas, to post an 89-87 lead. James then made 1-of-2 from the line to extend the lead to three.

Jasikevicius made a driving scoop shot in the paint to get Indiana within one with 10.8 seconds left, but Ilgauskas again made two free throws to push the lead back to three, 92-89. Austin Croshere missed a contested trey with two ticks left to seal Indiana’s fate.

Cleveland led 27-20 after one stanza and 47-43 at the half. The lead shrunk to one during the third, but the Cavs answered and held a 67-61 advantage after three periods.