Rockets Defeat Cavaliers, 98-87

Posted 5:34AM on Thursday 30th December 2004 ( 20 years ago )

Houston (AP) - LeBron James didn't play in the second half on Wednesday night after bruising a bone near his left eye when he was accidentally struck in the face by Houston's Dikembe Mutombo late in the first half. The Rockets went on to beat the Cavaliers 98-87, led by 34 points from Tracy McGrady and 20 from Yao Ming. James was moving across the lane when he was accidentally leveled by Mutombo, whose elbows have hit more than a few NBA players over the years. "I warned him before the game to watch out," said Cleveland guard Eric Snow, who played with Mutombo in Philadelphia. "I've seen him take out teammates and opponents. Those things are dangerous." In other games, Detroit defeated Washington 107-105; Milwaukee topped Orlando 111-105; Indiana defeated Charlotte 74-71; New York beat Minnesota 100-87; Memphis rallied past Boston 117-109; Phoenix defeated New Orleans 107-96; Golden State edged Toronto 111-105; and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Utah 101-90. James was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for X-rays and a CT scan. He wasn't available for comment after returning from the hospital. "I never saw him," Mutombo said. "The next thing I know, boom, he was laying on the floor. I hope it's not too bad." McGrady scored 22 points in the second half and 12 in the fourth quarter to help Houston snap a five-game road losing streak. Pistons 107, Wizards 105 At Washington, Chauncey Billups hit a 14-foot jumper with 0.7 seconds left to give Detroit a come-from-behind victory. The Pistons overcame a 19-point first-half deficit and trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter. Billups scored 10 of his season-high 32 points in the final five minutes, and Rasheed Wallace had 12 of his 23 in the final quarter. Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points, and Larry Hughes had 30 to go with seven assists and six steals for the Wizards. Pacers 74, Bobcats 71 At Charlotte, N.C., Jermaine O'Neal had 24 points and 17 rebounds and Indiana won back-to-back games for the second time this month. In the three games he's played since an arbitrator reduced his 25-game suspension to 15, O'Neal has 61 points and 35 rebounds. He will go before a federal judge Thursday in New York to learn if he can continue to play or if he must sit out the final 10 games of the suspension for his part in the Pacers-Pistons brawl last month. Emeka Okafor had his 17th consecutive double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte. Suns 107, Hornets 96 At New Orleans, the NBA's worst team put a scare into the league's best. The Hornets (2-26) pulled within 98-93 with 56 seconds to go, but Quentin Richardson answered for Phoenix with his team-record ninth 3-pointer. Richardson finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 22 points and nine assists as the Suns improved to 25-4. J.R. Smith scored a career-high 23 points for New Orleans. Bucks 111, Magic 105 At Orlando, Fla., Michael Redd scored 29 points and Dan Gadzuric had 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for Milwaukee, which had only 11 players in uniform because of injuries. Steve Francis nearly had a triple-double for Orlando with 24 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Grant Hill added 26 points for the Magic. Knicks 100, Timberwolves 87 At New York, Stephon Marbury took over down the stretch and finished with 32 points and 11 assists for the Knicks. Marbury scored 15 points in the final quarter, including a personal 9-2 run that gave New York a 94-85 lead with 1:46 to go. Kurt Thomas limited Kevin Garnett to 17 - more than six below his average. Latrell Sprewell added 22 points and Sam Cassell 20 for Minnesota. Grizzlies 117, Celtics 109 At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Memphis rallied in the final period. After trailing most of the game, the Grizzlies went on an 18-3 run to begin the fourth quarter and take a 101-97 lead. Memphis also got 18 points from Bonzi Wells. The Celtics were led by Raef LaFrentz with 28 points.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/12/144338