NBA Game Summary - LA Lakers at Cleveland

Cleveland, OH (Basketball News) - Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Los Angeles Lakers, 103-89, at Gund Arena. LeBron James added 25 points, nine assists and eight boards for the Cavaliers, who have won three of their last four.

"We could not stop Dr. Ilgauskas," Lakers interim coach Frank Hamblen said. "Dr. Z was too much for us."

Kobe Bryant started in his return from a 14-game stint on the injured list and had 26 points for the Lakers, who dropped their fifth game in six tries and eighth contest in their last 11.

Bryant, playing in his first game since spraining his right ankle on January 13 against the Cavs, showed a little bit of rust late, as he connected on 7- of-22 shots from the floor in 41 minutes. However, after hitting 50-percent of his shots in the first half, Bryant made just 1-of-10 in the second half.

"I was still able to get to the basket," Bryant said. "It just felt good to play. I haven’t played in a long, long, long time. On certain plays I was wheezing a little and I didn’t have the lift on some shots. "

Leading by six after three quarters, the Cavs started the final 12 minutes with an 11-4 run to open a 13-point lead, 87-74, with 6:37 remaining. James capped the run with a pair of free throws

Los Angeles then scored 10 of the next 12 points to cut the deficit to five, but four straight points from Cleveland, highlighted by a James alley-oop, put the Cavs back up by nine and they cruised to the 14-point win.

James had 21 of his points in the second half, while Ilgauskas hit on 11-of-13 from the floor.

"I knew what I had to do to take control," James said. "My teammates needed me to score. I didn’t want to force things. I was just waiting for my time."

The Cavs scored the first six points of the contest and jumped out to a 12-4 advantage, then a 19-10 lead on a Jeff McInnis jumper with 5:13 to play in the quarter.

Los Angeles, though, closed the stanza with a 14-6 run, but still trailed 25-24 after the opening 12 minutes. Bryant capped the surge with a long three- pointer and had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in the quarter.

The Lakers took their first lead of the game, 31-29, on a pair of Lamar Odom free throws less than four minutes into the second quarter and eventually built their lead to as many as four.

Cleveland, though, went on a 12-3 run to regain a five-point advantage and went into the locker room with a 47-43 edge. Ilgauskas had six points during the spurt and led all scorers with 16 points in the half.

Bryant had 14 on 6-of-12 shooting to pace the Lakers.

Cleveland extended its lead in the third, as it outscored the Lakers 29-27 in the stanza. After scoring just four points through the first three quarters, James had 11 in the third.