NBA Game Summary - Philadelphia at Cleveland

Cleveland, OH (Basketball News) - LeBron James continued his sizzling play by dropping 37 points on 13-of-22 shooting as Cleveland easily bested Philadelphia, 124-91, for its season’s best ninth consecutive victory at Quicken Loans Arena.

Drew Gooden added 23 points for the Cavaliers, who are in the fourth position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Flip Murray contributed 16 points, while Donyell Marshall had 12 points in the win.

Allen Iverson netted a game-high 38 points for the Sixers, who snapped a modest two-game winning streak. The Sixers remain in the eighth position of the Eastern Conference playoff race with a tenuous one-game advantage over Chicago, pending the result of the Bulls game versus Indiana on Tuesday night.

Chris Webber recorded 21 points while Kyle Korver had 11 in the loss.

The Sixers will play the Bulls in two of their next three games.

The Cavaliers welcomed back guard Larry Hughes during the game, but lost center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who sprained his left ankle early in the first quarter.

Hughes had been out of the Cavaliers lineup since undergoing surgery on his finger in early January. The talented guard was averaging 16.2 points and 3.9 assists in 28 games before the injury.

The Cavs were 18-10 with Hughes and are 26-19 since he has been sidelined. The former St. Louis University came off the bench and tallied 10 points in the game.

Ilgauskas got caught up with 76ers center Samuel Dalembert and landed badly on his left foot with 9:34 to play in the opening frame of the game.

Ilgauskas, who has a long history of leg problems, fell to the ground writhing in pain, but did regain his composure and walk off under his own power. He did not return.

The Cavs took a 30-26 advantage after the first quarter. Cleveland then used a dominant second quarter, in which it outscored Philadelphia 39-24, to take control of the game.

After Willie Green buried a three to open the second frame, the Cavs exploded with a 25-10 flurry to run away from the Sixers. Murray capped the burst with a three to make the score 55-39 with just under five minutes left in the half.

Gooden’s slam, with 1:39 left before the break, gave Cleveland its largest lead of the half, 65-46. It managed to hold the same 19-point edge heading into intermission, 69-50.

The Cavaliers continued to bury Philadelphia in the third quarter. James’ jumper, with a little over nine minutes left in the frame, gave Cleveland its first 20-point advantage, 81-61.

Nearly two minutes later, Gooden’s lay-in extended the Cavs advantage to 26 at 89-63.

Cleveland finished the quarter with a 99-80 lead.

After a disastrous three quarters, the Sixers were even worse in the final frame, scoring just 11 points.