James solid as Cavs win second straight, 83-80, over Detroit

The rookie still missed more shots than he made, but led the team to victory.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- LeBron James missed more shots than he made for the second straight night, finishing with six points, three rebounds and three assists Wednesday as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 83-80.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas led the Cavaliers (1-1) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Darius Miles added 13 points, including a 19-foot jumper with 12.2 seconds remaining. Lee Nailon missed a tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer for Atlanta.
Obinna Ekezie had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who shot 35 percent in their preseason opener.
Made just 3-of-7 shots
James played 30 minutes, shooting 3-of-7 from the field. His shots included a one-handed breakaway dunk that left the sellout crowd at the Asheville Civic Center buzzing.
James, the top pick in this year's NBA draft, also recorded two steals, missed a 17-footer midway through the first quarter and threw up an airball from 3-point range in the second.
On Tuesday, James shot 4-for-12, with eight points with seven assists in his first exhibition game, a 100-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
"He's going to have to be more consistent with his shooting," Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. "That's about all I see now. He was very unselfish and played great defense. He played a solid game."
Scolded by referee
James also was scolded on Wednesday by referee Jim Clark for having his shirt untucked before leaving the game for good with 7 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.
James appeared baffled at questions about his struggles.
"We won. I'm cool with that," he said.
There were numerous signs James is not an ordinary teenage rookie.
Silas called James over during an Atlanta free throw with 17 seconds remaining in the first quarter, telling him, "It's your ball. Bring it up."
The Cavs did get James the ball, but he threw a bad pass leading to a long, missed shot at the buzzer. Early in the second quarter James poked the ball away from rookie Boris Diaw underneath the basket, picked up the ball, spun and banked in a reverse layup, delighting the crowd full of fans with James jerseys.
Happy with his play
"It makes me happy knowing I'm shining not just in the big cities, but the small cities," he said. "I like seeing the smiles on their faces."
Defensively, James held his own against Stephen Jackson and Diaw.
The Hawks played without leading returning scorer Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is still recovering from back surgery.