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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – At least the Cleveland Cavaliers
won't have to end the season saddled with one of their longest road
losing streaks.
Andre Miller scored 26 points and hit two big baskets in the
final minute as the Cavaliers broke a 12-game road losing streak
with a 97-91 victory over the New York Nets on Friday night.
"It's nice for us," rookie center Chris Mihm said after the
Cavs won on the road for the first time since beating Detroit
101-94 on Feb. 25. "Our goal is to get one more in Washington.
That would be great to close out the year with two straight (road
wins). We really wanted to break that streak. It was getting a
little long. We wanted to put that one to rest."
The 12-game slide was the longest for Cleveland since losing 12
in a row in 1987-88. The Cavaliers lost 16 straight road games in
1983-84.
Lamond Murray added 22 points for the Cavaliers, who closed the
game with a 19-6 run and handed the Nets their fourth straight
loss.
"For the guys who are going to be here next year, you don't
want to be going into next season with 13 of 14 road losses in a
row. You don't want to have that type of pressure on you," Murray
said.
Clarence Weatherspoon had six points and Mihm added five in the
late run that gave Cleveland a sweep of the three-game series with
the Nets.
"We re-established ourselves when we got down five or six,"
Cleveland coach Randy Wittman said. "We got back to executing
again and getting stops. We're so up and down."
Keith Van Horn had 23 and Lucious Harris added 19 for New
Jersey. Van Horn shot just 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter.
Nets coach Byron Scott was annoyed with his team's shooting down
the stretch.
"We just didn't play smart at the end," he said. "We didn't
take advantage of the situation. Instead of getting it in the post
as much as possible, we settled for 25-foot jump shots and then
gave them the opportunity to get back in the post."
The Nets appeared close to breaking their losing streak when
Doug Overton nailed a 3-pointer with 5:29 to play to cap a 9-1 run
that gave New Jersey an 85-78 lead.
Mihm put in his own rebound and hit a foul shot and Weatherspoon
added two free throws to get the Cavaliers within a basket. After
Overton hit a layup, Murray hit a jumper, Weatherspoon hit a
10-footer, Matt Harpring scored on a layup and Weatherspoon added
two more free throws for a 91-87 lead.
The Nets cut the lead to two points twice, but Miller hit a
layup and baseline jumper to keep Cleveland ahead.
Tailing 42-37 with 5:05 left in the second quarter, the
Cavaliers closed the half with a 19-4 spurt that featured eight
points by Miller and seven by Murray.
The Nets didn't have to work hard to wipe out the 10-point
deficit as Cleveland hit only four of 19 shots in the third quarter to
allow New Jersey to get within 68-67.
Game notes
Veteran Nets forward Johnny Newman left the game early in
the third quarter with a groin injury. He had eight points. ...
Cavs forward Chris Gatling sat out a one-game suspension for an
altercation with Lorenzen Wright in Atlanta on Wednesday. ... Nets
rookie forward Stephen Jackson missed the game with a sore right
foot. ... Cleveland outrebounded New Jersey 41-31. The Cavs shot
50.7 percent (38 of 75). The Nets hit 47.2 percent, or 34 of 72.
... Nets forward Aaron Williams nearly knocked out the Nets
television crew while diving for a loose ball in the final minutes.
He scraped his right arm badly.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Cleveland Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 113
Orlando 110
Cleveland 97
New Jersey 91
New York 101
Atlanta 65
Indiana 113
Boston 108
Toronto 94
Miami 82
Utah 94
Chicago 83
Dallas 101
Sacramento 97
Denver 108
Golden State 92
Phoenix 109
Seattle 100
Houston 109
Portland 103
LA Clippers 111
Minnesota 105
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