CAVALIERS Beating Lakers reason to rock

The usually reservedGund Arena crowdsaluted the Cavs withseveral standing ovations.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Hurry back, Shaq.
The Los Angeles Lakers missed their big man more than ever Tuesday night, setting a franchise record-low for points in an 89-70 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With O'Neal watching his fifth straight game in street clothes from the bench, the Lakers looked nothing like a team bidding for their fourth straight NBA title.
"We beat half the Lakers," Cavaliers coach John Lucas said. "We didn't beat all the Lakers. We're not fooled by that."
Los Angeles' point total was its lowest since moving from Minneapolis in 1960.
"Really?" said Cavs guard Bimbo Coles. "Whoa."
Ricky Davis had 24 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas 23 and the rest of the Cavs forced Kobe Bryant to try and beat them himself.
Tyrone Hill had 17 rebounds for the Cavs, who dazzled a crowd of 19,833 -- including high school phenom LeBron James -- by blowing out the three-time defending champions.
"I love proving people wrong," said Darius Miles, who had 13 points in his home debut. "They say we're the 29th team in the league? Maybe we'll just go out and make the playoffs."
Bryant finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes, and just missed becoming the first player since Grant Hill in 1997 to have three straight triple-doubles.
"We didn't hit shots and fell in love with the outside shot too much and they didn't fall," said Bryant, who sat out the final minutes. "I was fuming when I came out. I was upset with the loss, not making shots, everything."
Previously, the fewest points the Lakers scored in a game while in Los Angeles was 74. They shot just 32 percent, including 4-of-20 on 3-pointers. In the fourth, the Lakers went just 5-of-22.
"We got good shots, but we didn't knock them down," Robert Horry said. "Tonight, everybody shot it bad -- everybody."
After Davis' reverse dunk put Cleveland up by 20 with 3:30 remaining, the usually reserved Gund Arena crowd fans began chanting, "Beat, L.A." and saluted the Cavs with several standing ovations.
Ideal start
It was an ideal start at home for the young Cavs, who are coming off three straight 50-loss seasons and aren't expected to be much better this season.
"It was a good win," Miles said. "But they didn't have Shaq. Shaq is 30 points. Shaq is 20 rebounds. Shaq is five blocks. He'll be back when we go to Los Angeles [Jan. 10]. He told me he owes me one."
The 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas, whose career has been sidetracked by foot injuries, showed why if he stays healthy he could be the Eastern Conference's top center.
Ilgauskas showed an assortment of power moves underneath and a soft touch from the outside while working against Samaki Walker and Soumaila Samake.
Davis' three-point play and a 3-pointer by Bimbo Coles helped the Cavs open a 73-60 lead with 11:03 remaining, and as the Lakers misfired, Cleveland built its lead to 82-64 with 5:54 remaining on Ilgauskas' final basket.