The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to winning ways with a a 111-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. "We came out with a different agenda tonight, and it showed," said Cleveland's LeBron James after scoring 25 points and 12 assists the day after the Cavaliers lost 94-87 at Charlotte. Guard Mo Williams also had 25 points and hit all seven of his three-pointers.
"We were kind of all over the map [at Charlotte] and it showed," said the Cavaliers coach Mike Brown. "We had a lot of good performances [against Dallas], especially offensively. A lot of guys stood out." Elsewhere in the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Washington Wizards 90-78 for the fourth win in a row. Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Pau Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers to a convincing 130-97 victory against the Golden State Warriors.
The Spaniard has rediscovered his form quickly despite missing the first 11 games of the season with a hamstring injury. "Pau's just being Pau. He's one of the best in the game. We missed that," said Kobe Bryant, who added 20 points as seven Lakers made it into double figures. Dwight Howard scored 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for the Orlando Magic, who edged out the Milwaukee Bucks 100-98.
Orlando's Vince Carter scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half with four stitches inside his mouth and lip after being elbowed The Utah Jazz saw off the Portland Trail Blazers 108-92 thanks to 26 points from Carlos Boozer. "We really passed the ball," said Jerry Sloan, the Jazz coach. "When you pass the ball and share with each other, it makes the game a lot easier to play." * With agencies
