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Wednesday, Dec. 1 7:00pm ET
Kemp hits 9 points in final 4 minutes | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shawn Kemp couldn't hit a shot until he went to the free-throw line. Kemp scored nine of his 27 points in the final four minutes to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards 111-108 Wednesday night. Kemp shot 6-of-18 from the field but hit 15 of 17 free throws. He also had 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. "We know the team that gets to the free-throw line is usually playing with a little more energy," Kemp said. "That's what I was trying to do, get to the free throw line and play aggressively." The Cavaliers were trailing 95-93 with less than four minutes left when Kemp went to work, hitting 7 of 8 free throws and a putback to lead Cleveland. Kemp hit two free throws to tie the game with 3:45 left and, after Brevin Knight's three-point play gave Cleveland the lead for good at 98-95, Kemp added two more free throws and later followed his own miss for a 102-97 lead. His final free three throw gave the Cavaliers a 110-107 lead with 13.6 seconds left. "He comes up big when you need a play or you need a bucket," Cleveland coach Randy Wittman said. "He's got the ability each time, whether he scores it himself or not, to create and get a basket." The teams traded foul shots and Chris Whitney's 30-footer at the buzzer to tie the game for Washington fell short. "We had a chance to win the game," Washington coach Gar Heard said. "We missed 14 free throws, and you do that against a team like Cleveland who shoots the ball very well, you're not going to have very much success." Bob Sura added 18 points, Wesley Person scored 16 and Mark Bryant had 15 for Cleveland. Brevin Knight 14. Knight also had six assists and made 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. "Every night you're not going to come out and hit on all cylinders," Knight said. "That's why it's so important to win games like this." Kemp's effort negated a 30-point night from Mitch Richmond. Rod Strickland, Richmond's backcourt mate, added 14 points, including seven straight during one fourth-quarter stretch. Richmond passed his previous season best of 20 points in a game in the third quarter. Richmond scored 11 points in the first quarter to help the Wizards take a 30-22 lead after one. But the Washington reserves struggled in the second quarter, and Cleveland ran off 21 of the period's first 28 points and rallied for a 56-51 halftime lead.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Cleveland Clubhouse Washington Clubhouse RECAPS Cleveland 111 Washington 108
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