Wizards close gap in conference with win over Cavs
CLEVELAND -- John Wall erupted for 37 points and the Washington Wizards tightened the race atop the Eastern Conference considerably with a 127-115 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
The Wizards, third in the East, now trail Boston by two games and the Cavs by 2 1/2 for first place. Also, the Cavs' lead over Boston is now just a half-game.
Wall scored 18 points in the first quarter on 8-of-8 shooting. Cleveland never recovered.
Bradley Beal added 27 points for the Wizards, who are now 19-7 when all five starters score in double figures.
LeBron James shook off the eye injury suffered Friday night to score 24 points, grab 11 rebounds, and dish out eight assists. James needed seven assists to pass Maurice Cheeks (7,392) for 12th place in NBA history, which he reached with his first assist in the fourth quarter. He also now has a career-high 37 double-doubles.
James briefly wore protective eye glasses to cover the scratched cornea he suffered on his right eye Friday night, but tossed them toward the bench at the 3:37 mark of the first quarter.
Kyrie Irving added 23 points and has now scored at least 20 in 21 consecutive games. Kevin Love contributed 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Wizards led by as many as 17 in the first half, but saw their lead cut to 96-91 after three quarters.
NOTES: Cavs G Iman Shumpert missed the game with right knee soreness, which the team said developed following its afternoon walkthrough. Shumpert had come off the bench the previous two games with the re-emergence of J.R. Smith as their starting shooting guard. ... Wizards G/F Bojan Bogdanovic sat out with lower back stiffness. He scored 17 points in 26 minutes against Brooklyn on Friday. ... The Wizards started a five-game road trip that takes them next to Los Angeles and finishes at Golden State. ... The 40 points the Cavs allowed in the first quarter were the most they've allowed in any opening period this season.