Cavs wrap up East's top seed in Philadelphia

Basketball Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 27, dished out 10 assists and Cleveland hit 12-of-23 shots from beyond the arc to help clinch homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 102-92 triumph over Philadelphia at Wachovia Center.

Mo Williams and Wally Szczerbiak had 18 points apiece and combined to drop seven of the 12 three-pointers for Cleveland, which not only clinched the top spot in the East but moved a full game clear of the Lakers for the NBA's best record.

Delonte West drained three from long distance on the way to 11 points with seven rebounds while Zydrunas Ilgauskas checked in with nine boards and seven points.

Andre Iguodala posted 26 points for the Sixers, who have already made the playoffs but find themselves mired in an inopportune slump having lost four straight and six of nine overall.

Andre Miller had 17 points and Lou Williams continued to log key minutes off the bench, also scoring 17 in a little over 23 minutes of floor time.

Philadelphia now trails fifth-place Miami by 1 1/2 games in the East, and leads seventh-place Chicago by one and eighth-place Detroit by 1 1/2 games.

Marreese Speights and Williams hit shots for the Sixers to start the fourth, pulling within two at 76-74, but Szczerbiak drained his fourth shot from beyond the arc to spark a quick 9-2 spurt that saw former-Sixer Joe Smith sink a pair of field goals and extend the advantage to 85-76 at the seven-minute mark.

Cleveland continued to lead and a Williams triple gave the visitors their largest lead at 11, 95-84, with 2:49 to play.

Iguodala's free throw and jumper shaved the deficit to eight with 1:51 on the clock but the Cavs' big man, Ilgauskas, took a pass from James, stepped behind the arc and calmly sank a three-ball from the left corner to put an exclamation point on Cleveland's shooting performance and all but end Philadelphia's hopes of breaking through for a much-needed win against an elite opponent.

The Cavaliers jumped out to a 23-19 lead after the opening quarter and three- pointers by Szczerbiak and Williams early in the second extended the margin to 32-23.

The Sixers responded with buckets on five straight possessions but Cleveland got a pair of long distance shots to fall on the other end from West and Szczerbiak again to stem the surge.

Cleveland held the advantage throughout the second and four consecutive free throws by James pushed the lead to 10 inside a minute left before two Iguodala free throws and an authoritative slam over James got the hosts back within six, 52-46, at the break.

The Sixers cut the lead to five three times in the third before back-to-back layups by Iguodala and Reggie Evans made it a four-point game with just about 2 1/2 minutes to go.

James answered by burying a three-pointer and his jumper moments later pushed the lead back to eight.

Williams, meanwhile, scored six straight Philadelphia points on the other end to help the hosts stay within six, 76-70, heading to the final stanza.

Game Notes

Cleveland has taken five straight games over the Sixers, including three this season...The Cavs shot 46.8 percent overall for the game...Philadelphia hit just two of its nine three-point attempts and shot 45.8 percent from the field overall.

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