King James scores 41 as Cavs down Bulls

Basketball Betting Lines

11/08/2008 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and made some key three-pointers in the final minutes to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls, 106-97, at the United Center.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points for the Cavs, who have won four in a row. Anderson Varejao contributed 13 points off the bench for Cleveland, while Mo Williams had 11 points and seven assists.

Ben Gordon finished with 29 points for the Bulls, who have lost three of four. Derrick Rose contributed 17 points, nine assists and five boards in the loss for Chicago.

Luol Deng scored 20 and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulls.

The Cavs entered the final quarter down by three, but opened up the last stanza with a 15-point run. James had the first eight points, and Varejao's jumper capped it to boost Cleveland's lead to 89-77 with just under eight minutes left.

The Bulls still managed to make a game of it, though, and Andres Nocioni drilled a three with 3:36 left that brought Chicago within six points. Gordon followed with a pair of jumpers to cut the Bulls' deficit to 96-94 with just over two minutes left.

But James responded with a three-pointer to give Cleveland some breathing room. After Gordon made a pair from the free throw line, James went back down the court, dribbled off a screen and drilled another three to give Cleveland a 102-96 lead with 1 1/2 minutes left.

Rose then drove down the lane and drew a foul, but made just one of two free throws. After each team missed a shot, Chicago was forced to foul and the Cavs made 4-of-4 free throws the rest of the way.

The teams traded runs throughout the first three quarters. The Cavaliers used a nine-point run to take control in the first, as Wally Szczerbiak's jumper gave them a 24-10 lead with 4:18 left. But the Bulls countered with a 10-2 surge of their own, and ended the first quarter down only 32-27.

The Bulls held a 51-42 lead after back-to-back threes from Nocioni in the second, but Cleveland pushed back and went into halftime with a 57-54 deficit.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, and the Cavs went into the fourth down 77-74.

Game Notes

Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich could be out for three months due to surgery on his right thumb. Hinrich was examined Saturday by Dr. John Fernandez and Bulls team physician Dr. Brian Cole. The results concurred an earlier MRI, which showed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb. Hinrich will have surgery on Tuesday...Nocioni finished with 16 points.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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