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Recap: Timberwolves , Cavaliers
Date: March 27, 2009 7:30 PM EDT
  

CLEVELAND (AP) -LeBron James took a hard foul to his face and tumbled to the court, dazed and angry.

The way the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing these days, opponents don't need to give James any more motivation.

James scored 25 points and Mo Williams added 22, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their 11th straight win, a 107-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

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``LeBron was too tough for us to handle,' Minnesota coach Kevin McHale said. ``You've got to be pretty darn good to beat them.'

In the third quarter, James broke through a double team at the top of the key and drove into the lane. As James was heading toward the basket, Jason Collins struck him in the face with his upper arm. James went to the floor and Collins was charged with a flagrant foul.

``It was borderline dirty,' James said. ``That's not part of the game. Hard fouls are a part of the game. That was a little bit overboard.'

Added James: ``Was he going for the ball? No. Was he trying to get in a position to take a charge? No. He was making sure I had nothing to do with a basketball play.'

Collins had a different point of view.

``He was a little off balance when he was driving to the basket and I was just trying to wrap him up so he wasn't going to explode to the rim like he normally does for a dunk or a layup or an and one,' he said. ``He just fell awkwardly.'

Added McHale: ``Most flagrant fouls, usually the fall determines kind of whether or not (a flagrant foul is called). It looked like he crumbled pretty hard.'

Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas shoved Collins and was assessed a technical foul.

Mo Williams scored 22 points for the Cavaliers, but sprained the pinkie on his right hand early in the fourth quarter and did not return. X-rays were negative.

Cleveland's victory tied the franchise record for consecutive wins in a season. The Cavaliers (59-13) also won 11 straight from Nov. 22-Dec. 12 this season and have accomplished the feat four other times.

Cleveland, which set a franchise mark for victories in a season Wednesday, will go for its 60th win Sunday against Dallas at home, where the Cavaliers are 34-1. Cleveland leads Boston and Orlando by five games for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

The loss extended the Timberwolves' overall losing streak to seven games and their road skid to nine. Kevin Love and Randy Foye each scored 18 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost 18 of 20.

At Sacramento, Calif., Marc Gasol scored 27 points and the Grizzlies won at Arco Arena for the first time in 11 years.

Rudy Gay had 23 points and nine rebounds and Mike Conley had 20 points and six rebounds for the Grizzlies, who snapped a 20-game losing streak in Sacramento. The franchise's only victory at Arco Arena came in the final game of the 1997-98 season, when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver and current Kings assistant coach Shareef Abdur-Rahim was in his second NBA season.

Kevin Martin scored 31 points for the Kings, who have dropped seven of eight.

At East Rutherford, N.J., Pau Gasol had a season-high 36 points and 11 rebounds and Los Angeles clinched the top playoff seed in the Western Conference with a victory.

Shaking off some uncharacteristic poor shooting early and a sprained right ankle before halftime, Kobe Bryant scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and added nine assists as the Lakers (58-14) won their fifth straight. It was also Phil Jackson's record-setting 728th game as the Lakers' coach.

Vince Carter had 20 for the Nets, who lost their third in a row.

At New York, Al Harrington scored 23 points, David Lee added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks snapped a six-game losing streak.

Chris Duhon ended a long slump with 15 points and Wilson Chandler also scored 15 for the Knicks, who completed their first sweep of the Hornets since the 1991-92 season, when they won all four while Charlotte was still in the Eastern Conference.

David West scored 29 points for New Orleans, which has lost two in a row following a three-game winning streak.

At Atlanta, Boston rested Kevin Garnett, but showed off its depth as Glen Davis filled in with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Celtics.

Davis matched his career high in rebounds, and Ray Allen led Boston with 22 points. Boston coach Doc Rivers held out Garnett, who's still experiencing soreness after missing 13 games with a right knee strain.

Joe Johnson and Josh Smith each scored 22 points for Atlanta.

At Orlando, Fla., Rashard Lewis scored 19 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 18 and Orlando beat Milwaukee.

Dwight Howard added 18 points and eight rebounds for Orlando. The Magic (54-18) have won five straight and 12 of their past 14 and stayed percentage points ahead of Boston for the Eastern Conference's second seed.

Ramon Sessions and Charlie Bell had 19 points apiece for the Bucks, who lost their fourth straight.

At Philadelphia, Boris Diaw scored 24 points to help Charlotte keeps its slim playoff hopes alive.

Ray Felton added 20 points for the Bobcats, who won for the first time in five road games. With the victory, Charlotte (32-40) inched closer to idle Detroit (34-37) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 10 games remaining.

Andre Iguodala scored 25 points for Philadelphia.

At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Shawn Marion added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors.

Nick Collison scored 21 points and Kevin Durant had 18 for the Thunder, who have lost four of five.

At Dallas, Carmelo Anthony made three free throws and a tough layup in traffic in the final 43 seconds, capping a 43-point performance that lifted Denver over the Jason Kidd-less Mavericks.

Kidd hurt his lower back Wednesday night and missed his first game for Dallas after playing 100 straight since being acquired last year.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points, but missed a go-ahead jumper with about 10 seconds left.

At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 18 points and the Spurs celebrated having their big three together for the first time in six weeks by drubbing the weary Clippers.

Manu Ginobili had 14 points and Tim Duncan had 13 before San Antonio's championship nucleus kicked back for most of the fourth quarter.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

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The Associated Press
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