Cavaliers, Wizards battle in Game 2 at Quicken Loans Arena

On Sunday, Larry Hughes scored 27 points and pulled down seven rebounds as Cleveland downed Washington, 97-82, in Game 1 of the set at Quicken Loans Arena.

LeBron James added 23 points, nine boards and seven assists for the Cavaliers, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds and Drew Gooden finished with 10 points.

Antawn Jamison ended with a game-high 28 points and 14 boards for the short- handed Wizards, while Jarvis Hayes was the only other Washington player in double figures with 18 points.

Washington does not have stars Gilbert Arenas (knee) and Caron Butler (hand) for the entire playoffs after both were lost for the season due to injury.

This is a best-of-seven series. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at the Verizon Center.

Cleveland has dropped three straight Game 2s in the postseason, while Washington has lost eight of its last nine Games 2s.

The Cavaliers eliminated Washington in six games in the first round of last year’s conference playoffs. Cleveland was then ousted by Detroit in the next round.

The Wizards are in the postseason for a third consecutive year and are meeting Cleveland in the playoffs for the fourth time. The only time Washington defeated the Cavaliers in the postseason was when it took two of three games in the first round of the 1977 NBA Playoffs.

The Cavs lead the all-time playoff series by a 10-7 count and have won seven of the nine home games against Washington in the postseason.