Cavaliers' Body Count Rises

LeBron's sidekicks look on helplessly as Carmelo, Nuggets romp
By Jesse Andrews,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 10, 2008 9:49 PM CST
Cavaliers' Body Count Rises
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, center, jokes with referee Joe Crawford, left, as Cleveland Cavaliers' Shannon Brown waits for play to resume during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008, in Cleveland. Denver beat the Cavaliers 113-83. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)   (Associated Press)

The short-handed Cavaliers not only got gobsmacked by the Nuggets, eventually losing 113-83; they may have lost two more key players to injury. Starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed the fourth quarter with back spasms, and mouthy sharpshooter Damon Jones sustained a sprained ankle. Cleveland already had four integral players benched by injury, including two starters.

LeBron James, the NBA's leading scorer, had 30 points, but predictably little help; Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson—numbers three and four in league scoring—combined for 52 points. Carmelo, who sat out the fourth quarter, is now 8-2 against his former high school rival and fellow 2003 draft pick. (More NBA stories.)

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