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GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) – With all the injuries the Cleveland Cavaliers
have endured this season, Wesley Person was not about to be stopped by a gash over his eye.
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Person got four stitches and was one of seven Cavaliers to score in double figures in a 117-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
"There's no reason to back down or back off, no matter what the situation," said Person, who finished with 12 points and season-highs of 11 rebounds and six assists.
Andre Miller had 24 points and 13 assists to lead Cleveland, which won its second straight game for the first time in two months. The Cavaliers went 4-23 since earning back-to-back wins against Portland and Chicago in January.
"You get two in a row, you never know what happens, you might
go out there and get them all," Cavaliers center Chris Gatling
said.
Antonio McDyess had 32 points and 13 rebounds and Nick Van Exel scored 26 points for Denver.
"Tonight, we had a beatable team and they came out and played
the way we should have," McDyess said. "We picked up the
intensity in the second half, but the lead was long gone by then."
Matt Harpring scored nine points in a 15-4 run that gave Cleveland a 28-18 lead. The Cavaliers' largest lead was 22 points, 65-43, with 1:07 left in the first half.
"Coming out hard was key with them playing Friday night and
then traveling," Cavs coach Randy Wittman said.
Nuggets coach Dan Issel refused to use fatigue as an excuse.
"Everybody is tired," Issel said. "I think you have to have
some pride in that you go out and try to defend. I just don't think
it bothers us enough that people run by us and lay the ball in the
basket."
The Nuggets, fourth in the NBA in 3-point field goals, missed
their first nine attempts from beyond the arc before hitting two
3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Denver closed within 109-101 on a short jumper in the lane by
McDyess with 1:47 left.
Person then made two free throws, rebounded a missed shot by the
Nuggets' Vashon Lenard, and hit a 19-foot jumper to restore
Cleveland's lead to 12 with 1:02 remaining.
"I want to show I'm more than a shooter," Person said. "I had an opportunity to help the team off the glass tonight and enjoyed it. I like to focus on every phase of the game and be a complete player for my team."
Harpring had 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter. Gatling scored 10 of his 20 in the second, and Lamond Murray had 10 of his 16 in the third for Cleveland.
Miller had 14 points and seven assists in the first half as Cleveland opened a 65-46 halftime lead.
Game notes
Denver forward Ryan Bowen hyperextended his left knee in a collision with McDyess in the first quarter and did not return. ... Cavs guard Jim Jackson missed the game due to a sore left foot. ...
Wittman said second-year guard Trajan Langdon, who has averaged 16 minutes, will be part of the Cavs' regular rotation the rest of the season. ... Denver scored 100 points for just the third time in its last 22 games. The Nuggets have lost 11 of their last 12 on the road. ... McDyess had his 48th double-double, 11 short of the
Nuggets record set by Dikembe Mutombo in 1992-93.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 117
Denver 105
Dallas 103
Charlotte 100
Utah 119
Washington 93
Seattle 93
Houston 90
Golden State 103
Detroit 95
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Lamond Murray grabs the turnover and brings it in for the jam.
avi: 439 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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