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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Tractor hasn't been pulling his weight.
He's been throwing it around.
|  | | New Jersey's Stephen Jackson, bottom, gets a knee in the face from Cleveland's Jim Jackson during a scramble for a loose ball.
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Robert "Tractor" Traylor sparked Cleveland in the second half
before fouling out and Lamond Murray scored 22 points as the
Cavaliers prepared for a trying road trip with a 92-90 victory
Monday night over the New Jersey Nets.
"I'm a foul magnet right now," said the beefy Traylor,
disqualified in just 16 minutes in his previous game. "But I'm at
my best when I'm bouncing around out there, full of energy."
Clarence Weatherspoon had 14 rebounds and Chris Gatling had 15
points in a rare start for the Cavs, who'll begin a six-game West
Coast road swing Wednesday at Sacramento.
Cleveland shot just 2-for-17 from the field in the fourth
quarter and won for just the second time in 10 games, but not
before getting another scare with a player getting hurt.
Murray was nailed by Vladimir Stepania's elbow midway through
the fourth quarter and didn't return until 1:30 remained and with
the Cavs clinging to a two-point lead. A team spokesman said Murray
suffered a bruise near his right eye.
The Cavs already have three players on the injured list and are
awaiting word on whether guards Matt Harpring and Wes Person need
surgery. When Murray went down in a heap under Cleveland's basket,
television cameras caught Cavs general manager Jim Paxson hanging his head in disbelief.
"I was just praying he'd be able to get up and walk," said
Weatherspoon. "When he came up holding his head I was like ...
OK."
Gatling's free throw with 2.8 seconds left put the Cavs up
92-90, but the Cavs didn't snap a three-game losing streak until
Stephon Marbury was short with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Marbury scored 27 points -- none in the fourth quarter -- and
Keith Van Horn added 17 for the Nets.
"I took the shot and missed," said Marbury, who went 0-for-6
in the fourth. "I would have tried to drive it, I would have
stepped out of bounds. They (shots) just didn't go in."
Weatherspoon's final rebound was the biggest of the night for
Cleveland. He wrestled the ball away from Van Horn on the offensive
boards and was fouled with 46 seconds left.
Weatherspoon made a free throw to put the Cavs up 91-88, but
rookie Kenyon Martin scored on a putback for the Nets.
Murray missed on Cleveland's next possession, but Van Horn
misfired on a 3-pointer and the ball was tipped out of bounds by
two New Jersey players.
Gatling was fouled, but made only one of two free throws with 2.8
seconds left, and the Nets called a timeout to set up a final shot.
Marbury took the inbounds pass, and coming off a double screen, had a good look from the left side. But with the 6-foot-7
Weatherspoon rushing him, his shot barely grazed the rim as the
horn sounded.
Traylor, in Cleveland coach Randy Wittman's doghouse lately,
played with the same intensity he showed early in the season. He
scored 10 points -- six down low -- in the final 6:14 of the third
quarter when the Cavs opened a 13-point lead.
The 300-pound Traylor will be getting more playing time with
centers Zydrunas Ilgauskas and rookie Chris Mihm out with injuries.
He added nine rebounds in just 22 minutes before fouling out with
1:48 remaining.
"I've got to stay active," said Traylor. "I have to be ready,
no matter the situation. Tonight, I got off to a good start and was
confident. I know my role on this team even though it has changed a
bit."
Wittman said Traylor's aggressiveness was the difference.
"That's the way Tractor that has to play," Wittman said.
"Just like that. He does, and he'll get minutes."
Game notes
Gatling's start was his first of the season and first since
May 1, 1999, with Milwaukee. ... New Jersey is 1-20 when trailing
after three. ... Van Horn was playing just his second game of the
season after recovering from a broken left leg. ... Jim Jackson,
playing his third game since coming to Cleveland in a trade, made
his 500th career 3-pointer and had 11 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Portland 98
Boston 90
Cleveland 92
New Jersey 90
Miami 88
Golden State 78
Dallas 104
Chicago 91
Indiana 85
LA Clippers 82
Sacramento 100
Minnesota 97
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Stephon Marbury drives the lane and scores off the glass.
avi: 301 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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