Cleveland ? Time to stock up on the ice packs, aspirin and bandages. The Cavaliers are hurting.
Already missing star forward LeBron James, another starter and a top reserve, Cleveland lost two more players to injury Sunday night before Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jeff McInnis sparked a 104-87 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Gooden scored a career-high 33 points — 27 in the second half — and Ilgauskas had 28 points and 18 rebounds as the hobbling Cavs survived another day without James, who sat out his second straight game with a sprained ankle.
“Everybody knew we had to step up with LeBron down,” said McInnis, who matched a career high with 15 assists. “We only had like six guys available at the end. But Z, myself and Drew weren’t going to let us lose this game.”
Actually, the Cavs, who because of injuries dressed just nine players, were down to seven in the fourth quarter after Lucious Harris (bruised chest) and Sasha Pavlovic (right hip flexor) got hurt. In addition to James, Cleveland also was without starting forward Ira Newble (Achilles sprain) and super sub Anderson Varejao (ankle sprain).
On top of that, Cleveland rookie Luke Jackson is likely done for the year after undergoing back surgery and guard Dajuan Wagner has been in and out of the hospital with a stomach disorder.
“It’s just that time of year where these things come about,” Cavs coach Paul Silas said. “Other guys have got to step up.”
Ilgauskas and Gooden took over in the second half, scoring 42 of Cleveland’s 50 points — 28 of 32 in the fourth — and adding 16 rebounds after halftime as the Cavaliers improved to an Eastern Conference-best 16-4 at home and 1-1 since losing James.
James sprained his left ankle last week against Memphis and is still too sore to give it a try. Silas expects to have James’ 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per outing back in Orlando.
“We needed to win this game,” said Harris, who had nine points in the first half. “We have to hold the fort down until LeBron gets back.”
Michael Redd scored 23 points and Desmond Mason 17 for the Bucks, who were held to a season-low 10 points in the fourth quarter by the Cavs, who switched to a gimmicky triangle-and-two defense in the final period.
“We have so many guys down, I had to come up with something,” Silas said.
The Bucks were just 4-of-16 from the floor in the fourth quarter and made six turnovers.
“This was a heartbreaking loss,” Redd said. “We had the lead, but only scoring 10 points in the fourth is frustrating, especially with them not having LeBron.”
The 6-foot-10 Gooden took advantage of a mismatch against the 6-5 Mason in the fourth quarter, muscling his way inside for easy baskets and getting to the free throw line. Gooden, who had just six points and one rebound in the first half, scored 17 in the fourth on 6-of-9 shooting.
“Drew can put the ball in the hoop,” said Silas. “But even better than that, he was active rebounding the ball or doing whatever we needed. He just really came with it.”
The Cavs led only 86-81 with 6:33 remaining on two free throws by Ilgauskas. He made two more and converted a three-point play to put the Cavaliers ahead by 10. Robert Traylor then grabbed a key offensive rebound before McInnis hit a jumper and Gooden scored inside to make it 95-85 with 2:43 left.
Gooden then scored Cleveland’s final 11 points over the last 2:43 as the Cavs held on.
“Huge,” Gooden said of the win. “We all had to do a little more tonight.”
Notes: Harris and Pavlovic will be re-evaluated Monday. … The Bucks were without forward Keith Van Horn, sidelined with tendinitis in his ankle. … Redd will be a free agent after the season, an eventuality that has Cavaliers fans dreaming of him joining James. Silas has always been a fan of Redd, whose range makes him an especially tough matchup. “You have to be careful with him at all times,” Silas said of the former Ohio State star. “He can get on a roll and hit 10 straight shots.” … Van Horn missed 18 games earlier this season with the ankle injury. … Cleveland’s pursuit of some frontline help has stalled. The club was close to signing F Keon Clark to a 10-day contract, but Silas said he’s no longer in their plans. … Cleveland is 14-1 when holding opponents to under 20 points in the fourth.
