James, Cavs down Grizzlies to win seventh straight

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 18 points, while Larry Hughes donated 13 and Donyell Marshall 12 for Cleveland, which put the game away by outscoring Memphis 35-12 in the third quarter. Sasha Pavlovic scored 11, and Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao added 10 apiece for the Cavaliers, who shot 54.1 percent.

Rudy Gay scored 24 points and Pau Gasol finished with 23 points and 10 boards for Memphis, which has lost two in a row and eight of nine. Mike Miller, Memphis’ second leading scorer, was held to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Grizzlies, who continue to hold the league’s worst record.

James took over in the third. James, hit his first five shots of the frame and finished 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range on his way to 15 points in the quarter.

Memphis trailed 97-63 after three quarters and both teams played their subs in the final 12 minutes.

James, who sat out Cleveland’s 124-100 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night with back spasms, finished 11-of-17 with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 29 minutes.

Leading 16-15, Cleveland went on a 12-0 run to take a 28-15 lead with just over four minutes left in the opening quarter. Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall score all 12 points during the spurt.

The Cavaliers led 36-25 after one quarter.

Memphis went on a 13-2 run early in the second session to pull within two, 40-38, with 8 1/2 minutes until the half. Cleveland reestablished their grip on the game with an ensuing 10-2 spurt, capped by a Zydrunas Ilgauskas hook shot which put the Cavaliers ahead, 50-40, just over midway through the second period.

Cleveland led 62-51 at the intermission.

Game Notes

Cleveland outrebounded Memphis 45-40...The Grizzlies committed 14 turnovers...Cleveland won for just the second time in its last seven tries in Memphis...Memphis has now dropped a season-high five straight games at home.