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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 29, 2009

Williams on target as Cavs sink Mavs, 111-95


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Cleveland's Mo Williams shoots over Dallas' Jason Terry in the third quarter. Williams finished with 25 points.

TONY DEJAK | Associated Press

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CLEVELAND — Mo Williams doesn't mind being forgotten, lost in the gargantuan shadows cast by his superstar teammates.

LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal can have all the attention.

Williams just wants a taste now and then. He got some last night.

Williams made all seven of his 3-point attempts and scored 25 points, James added 25 with 12 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers rebounded from a lackluster loss in Charlotte by beating the road-tested Dallas Mavericks, 111-95.

One night after misfiring on six 3s, Williams was perfect.

"That last couple games I think I was 2-for-15," Williams said. "I made the first couple and it felt pretty good. I never feel uncomfortable from behind the line and tonight was one of those nights."

Anderson Varejao scored 15 — 13 in the second half — on 7-of-7 shooting for the Cavs, who were beaten 94-87 by the Bobcats on Friday in O'Neal's return after missing six games with a shoulder injury. Cleveland also got a huge boost from troubled guard Delonte West.

West, who played just over two minutes on Friday and has been ineffective recently while dealing with personal and health issues, added 10 points and 10 rebounds in a season-high 29 minutes.

"He was awesome," James said of West. "Delonte is one of those guys who cannot play for seven or eight straight games, come back in and it looks like he never missed a beat. I don't know how he does it. We have certain guys in this league who can do that, and he's one of them."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 and Jason Terry 25 for Dallas, which was denied its sixth straight road win. The Mavericks were outrebounded 39-24 and didn't play enough defense.

"That's what lost us the game," Nowitzki said. "We scored almost 100, which is enough sometimes to win on the road, but we couldn't get any stops. We gave up too many layups. Once you get all layups, everybody starts feeling good about themselves.

"The basket gets bigger. Mo Williams was on fire. Varejao didn't even miss one."

Although an All-Star, Williams is sometimes overlooked because of James and O'Neal. He has no problem being third class.

"I like being under the radar," he said. "I like being the silent assassin. I don't need all the pub."

LAKERS 130, WARRIORS 97

Pau Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Los Angeles won its fifth in a row. Ron Artest added 19 points, five rebounds and four assists to help the Lakers to their highest point total of the season. Monta Ellis scored 18 points and Corey Maggette had 17 points and six rebounds for Golden State.

MAGIC 100, BUCKS 98

Vince Carter scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half after getting four stitches for a cut lip, and Dwight Howard added 25 points and 20 rebounds as visiting Orlando won for the seventh time in eight games. Ersan Ilyasova had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Milwaukee.

JAZZ 108, BLAZERS 92

Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 24 points and 15 assists to lead host Utah to its fifth win in five games. Brandon Roy scored 19 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 for Portland.

BOBCATS 92, WIZARDS 76

Gerald Wallace had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton each scored 12 points to help visiting Charlotte win its fourth in a row. Caron Butler led Washington with 19 points.

NOTES

76ers: Allen Iverson is talking about a comeback, and Philadelphia is at least discussing the idea of bringing back its former franchise superstar.

A person with knowledge of the talks says the Sixers have been approached about signing the recently retired guard, and team management has held internal discussions about bringing Iverson back.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says Iverson is among the free-agent candidates the Sixers are considering to replace injured point guard Lou Williams, who's expected to miss eight weeks after jaw surgery.

Magic: Forward Matt Barnes has been fined $20,000 for throwing a basketball into the stands.

The Heat's Michael Beasley soared over Barnes to grab an offensive rebound and dunk the ball for the winning points in Miami's 99-98 win Wednesday. The Magic protested that it was goaltending. Barnes threw the ball into the stands after the game.