Cavs beat Celtics sans LeBron

Cavs beat Celtics sans LeBron

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 95-87 on Wednesday in their regular season home opener in Quicken Loans Arena.

It was the first game for the Cavs without its former franchise player LeBron James, who bolted Cleveland in the offseason to join the Miami Heat to team up with fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Interestingly, the South Beach super trio dropped their first game of the season against the very same Boston squad on Tuesday.

J.J. Hickson led all scorers with 21 points, while Daniel Gibson chipped in 16 for the Cavs, who outscored the Celtics 27-14 in the final quarter.

Boston had a balanced offensive output, with Rajon Rondo finishing with 18 points, Paul Pierce notching 13, and Ray Allen 12. Kevin Garnett hauled down 15 rebounds in a losing effort.

The Cavs rallied from 11 down at the end of the third quarter and outscored Boston 27-14 in the fourth quarter.

Gibson nailed four consecutive free throws during the final 17 seconds to ice the game for Cleveland, a city who was hurt from the decision by James to leave town.

It was merely the first game of the regular NBA season, but it was meaningful for the Cavs and its fans as it marks the first step in moving forward without the player who has lifted them to prominence during the past seven years.

When the final buzzer sounded, Cavs fans cheered and owner Dan Gilbert pumped his fist. Coach Byron Scott smiled and confetti fell in the arena as if the Cavs have won the NBA championship.

The Cavs were without guard Mo Williams who was unavailable because of a groin injury and personal reasons.

Cleveland waits for its prodigal son to return on December 2 when the Heat goes up against the Cavs.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Thursday October 28 2010, 4:24 AM EDT. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0