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Francis Leads Magic Past Cavaliers 105-102

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 February 2005, 00:00 CST

ORLANDO, Fla. - Steve Francis had 30 points and tied a season high with 13 assists, and the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-102 on Tuesday night to spoil LeBron James' return.

Grant Hill scored 21 for the Magic, who have won seven of their last eight home games.

James finished with 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds in his first game since rolling his left ankle last Wednesday in a win over Memphis. The Cavaliers split their two games during his absence.

Jeff McInnis appeared to send the game into overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but after a brief huddle the officials waved off the shot. Replays clearly showed the ball in McInnis' hands as the clock ran out.

James shot 10-for-20 but missed his three 3-point tries, including an attempt before McInnis' shot. From the line, James was 8-for-13 - four misses coming in the final quarter.

McInnis had 19 points. Drew Gooden, traded from Orlando in the offseason, had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead three Cavaliers in double-doubles.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Robert Traylor had 12 points and 11 rebounds on his 28th birthday.

The Cavaliers have alternated losses and wins for the last 11 games. It's the NBA's longest streak since the New York Knicks did the same for 14 straight games in 1997-98.

Francis' free throws with 30.2 seconds remaining broke a 102-all tie, and Eric Snow missed an open 3-pointer off James' pass. The Cavaliers missed six of seven shots in the final 2 1/2 minutes, with Snow misfiring on three.

Francis rebounded, was fouled with 16.3 seconds to go and made a free throw for the game's final points. He was 10-for-14 from the field and 10-for-12 from the line. The double-double was his 12th.

In the opening seconds, James couldn't have looked any rustier - he shot an airball from the left baseline. But he redeemed himself a minute later by losing Doug Christie on a wicked spin move for a slam.

He was mostly quiet for the rest of the half, going into the break with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds. He didn't seem to favor the ankle but had trouble handling the ball, nearly fumbling it away at least four times.

James finally came alive late in the third quarter. After Hedo Turkoglu's 3-pointer gave Orlando an 81-77 lead, James found Traylor open for a thundering dunk to silence the crowd.

On Cleveland's next two possessions, James hit a swooping bank shot and a scooped layin for an 83-81 lead. For the quarter, he had 10 points and three assists.

Cleveland led 59-58 at halftime.

Notes:@ Orlando center Andrew DeClercq also celebrated a birthday, his 32nd. ... Earlier Tuesday, the Cavaliers signed forward-center Jerome Moiso to a 10-day contract. To make room on the roster, forward-center Anderson Varejao was placed on the injured list with a sprained left ankle. ... Orlando center Kelvin Cato returned from a three-game absence due to a sinus infection. ... The game was briefly delayed coming out of a second-quarter timeout, after a Magic dancer's necklace broke and scattered beads across the floor. ... Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams was among the 15,092 in attendance.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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