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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, February 20, 2010

Jamison a bust in debut with Cavs


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Cleveland's LeBron James dunks as teammate Antawn Jamison and Charlotte's Gerald Wallace, left, look on.

CHUCK BURTON | Associated Press

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LeBron James watched a group of reporters converge on Antawn Jamison in the locker room and yelled to his new teammate.

"Don't worry about that," a smiling James said, mixing in a few expletives. "You're home. They still love you."

Jamison burst out laughing. What else could he do? Jamison had just gone 0 for 12 from the field in his debut with Cleveland in his hometown last night in the Cavaliers' 110-93 loss to their surprising nemesis, the Charlotte Bobcats.

"It was just one of those nights," Jamison said before turning more serious. "It won't happen again. I promise you that."

Two days after Cleveland acquired what it believes may be the key piece to winning a championship, Jamison had five shots blocked and threw up two airballs. The Cavaliers couldn't defend, either, and their 13-game winning streak at the All-Star break has suddenly turned into a two-game losing streak.

This new James-Jamison-Shaquille O'Neal front line isn't dominating just yet.

"I told him, 'I don't care how many shots you miss, we're going to continue to give you the ball,' " James said. 'Those are shots we need you to make and we know you can make them.' "

Stephen Jackson and the Bobcats had no trouble on offense, shooting 55 percent.

Jackson scored 29 points, Tyrus Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds in his Charlotte debut, and three days after losing to the NBA-worst New Jersey Nets for the second time, the Bobcats won their third straight game against the league-leading Cavaliers.

HORNETS 107, PACERS 101

Rookie Darren Collison registered his first career triple-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and host New Orleans beat Indiana. Collison joined injured star Chris Paul as the only Hornets to record triple-doubles since former New Orleans point guard Baron Davis had one on Jan. 8, 2005. David West scored 29, Peja Stojakovic scored 17, and Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans.

WIZARDS 107, NUGGETS 97

Al Thornton scored 21 points in his Wizards debut and Josh Howard added 20 to lead host Washington over Denver. Thornton was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, and Howard was starting for the first time since being acquired Feb. 13 from Dallas.

76ERS 106, SPURS 94

Lou Williams scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, fueling a decisive run that lifted host Philadelphia over San Antonio. Andre Iguodala had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia. The Sixers outscored the Spurs 33-18 in the final 12 minutes.

MAVERICKS 95, MAGIC 85

Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points and visiting Dallas rode a surprisingly strong defensive effort to beat Orlando. After allowing Orlando to shoot 65 percent and score 33 points in the first period, the Mavericks limited the Magic to just 34 percent shooting and 62 points the rest of the game.

HEAT 100, GRIZZLIES 87

Michael Beasley scored a career-high 30 points and visiting Miami won its season-best fifth straight by defeating Memphis in double overtime. The Heat, playing without Dwyane Wade and Rafer Alston, blew an 18-point lead in regulation than pulled away in the second overtime behind Udonis Haslem, who scored eight points in the final five minutes.

RAPTORS 106, NETS 89

Rasho Nesterovic scored a season-high 16 points, replacing a sidelined Chris Bosh, and visiting Toronto beat New Jersey. Jarrett Jack added 18 points and Jose Calderon added 16 as the Raptors had seven players in double figures in dropping the Nets to 5-50.

JAZZ 100, WARRIORS 89

Carlos Boozer had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 points and Utah extended its longest road winning streak in eight years to six games. C.J. Miles added 16 points, and Deron Williams had nine points and 11 assists for the Jazz.

BULLS 100, TIMBERWOLVES 94

Kirk Hinrich had 20 points and helped visiting Chicago beat Minnesota. Derrick Rose scored 19 points and Luol Deng pitched in 18 for the Bulls, who had Hakim Warrick and Flip Murray make their debuts.

CELTICS 96, TRAIL BLAZERS 76

Ray Allen scored 21 points, including eight straight early in the fourth quarter, for visiting Boston. Kevin Garnett scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half for the Celtics.

SUNS 88, HAWKS 80

Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points, his ninth straight game over 20, for host Phoenix. Grant Hill added 16 points for the Suns, who used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.

BUCKS 91, PISTONS 85

John Salmons had 18 points, including a game-clinching 3-pointer, in his debut for visiting Milwaukee debut. Salmons hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to give Milwaukee an 88-84 lead.

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