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Recap: Cavaliers , Pacers
Date: February 10, 2009 7:00 PM EDT
  

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Mike Brown will gladly take the fine - if it makes a difference in the calls LeBron James gets.

Brown watched his star player score 47 points and do everything but win the game Tuesday night at Indiana.

One problem: James' foul with 0.2 seconds left gave Indiana's Danny Granger a chance to win it from the free throw line. Granger sank the first, then missed the second intentionally to seal an improbable 96-95 victory that left Brown and his players fuming about the call.

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``I don't care if I get fined. It is what it is. I saw the two plays, just a bad call determined the outcome of that game,' Brown said. ``If they want to fine me for telling the truth, fine me. This isn't me. I never do this.'

The usually composed Brown couldn't help himself after a wild finish.

While James spoke in a more moderate tone, he, too, was upset with the call. He tugged at his headband and walked around on the floor while Granger was shooting free throws, and when the game ended, James quickly left the floor and walked with disgust to the locker room.

``I think Mike Brown gave it his all,' James said. ``He basically said what he felt. For it to end that way, it's definitely tough on us.'

Indiana, which ended a nine-game losing streak to the Cavaliers, saw it differently.

A few moments earlier, Cleveland had tried an alley-oop play to James off an inbounds pass - the same play Indiana used to win it.

While James never caught the ball, Granger drew the foul with 0.4 seconds to go, and James made both free throws to tie the score at 95.

``They were very, very consistent calls on the last two plays,' Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said.

For James, it ruined a night in which he turned Conseco Fieldhouse into his own personal showcase.

He connected on 15 of 21 shots, 13 of 14 free throws, made 4 of 7 3-pointers, and had seven rebounds and four assists. He repeatedly had the crowd on its feet with high-flying dunks, nifty no-look passes, one spectacular block and an array of head fakes, crossover dribbles and acrobatic moves.

Yet somehow, perhaps with a little help from the officials, the short-handed Pacers absorbed the body blows and survived.

Troy Murphy scored 18 to lead Indiana, while Granger, playing on a sore right knee, added 16. Indiana played without Marquis Daniels, Mike Dunleavy and Jeff Foster but got some key late plays from backups like Travis Diener and Brandon Rush.

Cleveland lost its second straight game for the first time this season and went home in disbelief.

``That last call, on the run, is the worst call that I have ever been a part of,' Brown said. ``I cannot imagine another worse call than that. It was an awful call and for him to take away a basketball game from a team with .4 seconds on the clock is irresponsible.'

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 23,000. Bryant made a free throw with 5:13 left in the second quarter to reach 23,000 at 30 years, 171 days old. He joined 20 others in league history who've reached the mark.

Pau Gasol had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 12 points and a season-high 18 boards for the Lakers, just back from a 6-0 trip.

Kevin Durant finished with 31 points, his fifth 30-point game in a row, and 10 rebounds in the loss.

At Oakland, Calif., Stephen Jackson had a season-high 35 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Jamal Crawford added 21 points against his former team. Kelenna Azubuike had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Warriors obliterated their previous season-high for points with almost no defensive opposition from the Knicks, who lost their fifth straight.

Al Harrington had 24 points and nine rebounds amid constant boos from the Oakland fans who embraced him just two years ago. Harrington, who invited the boos with repeated waves of his hand, was traded to the Knicks on Nov. 21 for Crawford.

At East Rutherford, N.J., Tim Duncan had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Spurs beat the Nets for the 13th straight time.

Matt Bonner scored 13 of his 22 points in the opening 5 minutes of the third quarter in helping the Spurs win for the 15th time in 19 games since the start of 2009. Tony Parker added 20 points and Bruce Bowen came off the bench in the third quarter to help cool off a hot Vince Carter, who led the Nets with 25 points.

Devin Harris added 21 points for New Jersey, which lost its second straight game after winning a season-high four straight.

At Miami, Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Carmelo Anthony finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and the Nuggets swept the series with Miami for the fourth consecutive year. Kenyon Martin had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Dwyane Wade scored 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting for Miami, which has lost five of its last seven.

At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 22 points and the Hawks shook off an embarrassing home defeat to the Clippers.

The Wizards missed their first seven shots and never seriously challenged the Hawks, who clearly had something to prove after a 121-97 loss to Clippers over the weekend.

At Minneapolis, Jason Kapono, the two-time defending 3-point contest champion, scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Jermaine O'Neal had 22 points and eight rebounds for Toronto.

Joey Graham scored 24 for the Raptors, who rallied from 13 down in the third quarter in their third straight game without All-Star forward Chris Bosh.

Randy Foye had a career-high 33 points and eight rebounds for the Wolves, who played the first game without center Al Jefferson.

At Dallas, Josh Howard and Antoine Wright both had 23 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 21 and J.J. Barea had 10 as the primary fill-in for sixth-man standout Jason Terry, out with a broken left hand.

The Kings (11-42) became the first NBA team guaranteed to have a losing season.

At Chicago, Ben Gordon converted a go-ahead four-point play to help rally the Bulls.

Playing their first home game since Jan. 23, the Bulls trailed 100-90 with about 3 1/2 minutes left. But with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen watching, they showed some of their old mettle and finished on a 17-2 run.

The Pistons were without Allen Iverson, who had the flu.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2012
The Associated Press
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