Cavs clip Knicks without LeBron; NY’s Larry Brown hospitalized

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 points, 14 boards and five blocks and Donyell Marshall also scored 17 for the Cavs, who won for the third time in four outings and without their best player.

Guard LeBron James missed the game because of a sprained left ankle he suffered in Wednesday night’s loss to the Detroit Pistons. James is healthy enough to play if the team needed him, but since the Cavs have already clinched the fourth spot for the upcoming playoffs, it is likely the MVP candidate will rest the remainder of the regular season.

"It feels good to come back and get the win," said Marshall. "Not just without LeBron but to just go out there and play. We do not want to go into the playoffs stumbling."

Nate Robinson had 32 points to lead the Knicks, who dropped their second straight contest. Jamal Crawford added 19 points for New York, which didn’t have another player score in double figures.

After the game head coach Larry Brown was taken to a local hospital on a stretcher. He apparently wasn’t feeling well towards the end of the game and needed to be taken for observation overnight.

The Knicks released the following statement after the game: "Larry Brown was not feeling well near the end of the third quarter. his vital signs are stable. Given the fact it came on so suddenly we decided to admit him in a hospital in Cleveland for observation."

Down 71-60 in the early stages of the final quarter, the Cavs began to chip away. Damon Jones capped an 11-5 run with a three-pointer to draw Cleveland within 76-71 with 6 1/2 minutes left.

Then, after Robinson drained a trey to extend New York’s lead to 79-71, The Cavs went on an 11-1 surge. This time Hughes ended the burst with a bucket with just over two minutes left to give the Cavs an 82-80 edge.

New York regained the lead on a Crawford three-pointer, 83-82, but that was the last lead for the Knicks.

Flip Murray answered with a trey for Cleveland and the Cavs later hit four straight free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

Murray ended with 12 points for the Cavs, who led 41-37 at halftime after playing to a 16-16 tie after 12 minutes of action.

Game Notes

Knicks guard Steve Francis missed the game due to lower back spasms. Robinson started in Francis’ place...Malik Rose and Eddy Curry each had nine points for NY...Despite the loss the Knicks won the season series from Cleveland 2-1...NY fell to 7-32 on the road this season...Cleveland improved to 30-10 at home.

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