Cavs push past Spurs
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LeBron James was in street clothes. Shaquille O'Neal was nowhere to be found and Antawn Jamison was in the lockerroom icing his sore knee.
If they had lost, the Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of excuses.
They didn't have to use one.
Mo Williams made two free throws with 9 seconds left and Delonte West made the kind of plays down the stretch reserved for James as the Cavs won for the first time in three seasons without their superstar, beating the San Antonio Spurs 97-95 on Monday night.
Cleveland had been 0-9 since 2007-08 without James.
"We had a great opportunity. Not many teams can come here and win," said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who scored a season-high 38. "LeBron wasn't playing, Jamison didn't play the second half and Shaq wasn't there. We blew a big one."
Williams finished with 17 points for the Cavs, who were playing their second straight game without the injured James. The NBA's reigning MVP is nursing a tender right ankle as well as other bumps and bruises and Cleveland coach Mike Brown is taking advantage of a lull in Cleveland's schedule to get him rest.
West had 16 points and made a key steal in the final minute as Cleveland became the first team to reach 50 wins this season.
"Without LeBron, Shaq and Antawn, that's the three main guys," Williams said. "We so often get the ball to LeBron and play through him. We did a good job of finding a way."
The Spurs were also short-handed, playing for the first time this season without guard Tony Parker. He's out for six weeks with a broken hand suffered on Saturday in Memphis.
The Cavs may suddenly have more to worry about than just James or O'Neal, out until the playoffs after having thumb surgery.
Jamison left late in the third quarter with an apparent left knee injury and did not return.
"Everything was fine in the first half. In the second half, it stiffened up," Jamison said. "I couldn't get the range of motion I needed. I had a slight case of this the first month of the season. It's not anything to really be worried about."
A back-and-forth game came down to the final minute. With Cleveland up one, West stole a pass intended for Ginobili with 55 seconds left and was fouled by San Antonio's guard. He made both free throws to put Cleveland ahead 93-90 with 52.8 seconds left.
After San Antonio missed two potential game-tying 3s, Ginobili hit a tough step-back jumper that was ruled a 2-pointer. The officials checked the TV monitors to make sure it wasn't a 3, and as they reviewed the play, Ginobili watched it on the giant overhead scoreboard. When he saw it wasn't a 3, Ginobili clenched his fists in disgust and spun on his heels.
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