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| Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) scoops up a shot against Washington Wizards' Brendan Haywood in the first quarter of an NBA playoff basketball game Saturday, April 19, 2008, in Cleveland. |
Determined to make the Wizards swallow their words, LeBron James scored 32 points, making two tough shots in traffic down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the NBA playoffs with an intense 93-86 win over Washington on Saturday.
Called "overrated" by Washington's DeShawn Stevenson in the final weeks of the season, James scored 20 points in the second half to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions, who took a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series that appears to have a long way to go.
James sat out the early part of the fourth quarter to rest a troublesome back. But once he returned to the floor, the superstar forward came through.
With the score tied 84-84, James knifed his way down the lane and hit a layup between Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood with 1:37 remaining. Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game - and one tick to spare on the 24-second shot clock.
The Wizards never recovered, and although Daniel Gibson missed a free throw and James misfired on two attempts from the line in the final minute, Washington couldn't come up with the big shot and scored just two points in the final 4:39.
Delonte West made four free throws in the final 15.1 seconds to seal Cleveland's win.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers, who, unlike the Wizards, stayed quiet in the weeks leading up to the series.
Arenas scored 24 points in 27 minutes before fouling out with 13 seconds to go. Jamison added 23 and Stevenson had three on 1-of-9 shooting for Washington, which has lost to Cleveland in the opening round the past two seasons.
