Clippers 95, Cavaliers 90

Clippers 95, Cavaliers 90
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By CHRIS SHERIDAN
AP Basketball Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- LeBron James played point guard Friday night and was more aggressive on offense, but his seven turnovers helped fuel the Cleveland Cavaliers' 95-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 18-year-old rookie had 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting with four assists and three rebounds, making three outside shots after missing at least 10 of them the previous night.
"Today I felt real comfortable at (point guard), other nights I feel comfortable at (shooting guard)," James said. "It's whatever's in my rhythm at that point in time."
James had three of his turnovers -- all on bad passes -- in a two-minute span of the fourth quarter when the Clippers took the lead for good. James had a chance to pull Cleveland within four, but missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:10 left.
Coach Paul Silas moved James to point guard in an effort to get more creativity out of the offense, and James was much more involved than he was the previous night against the Lakers. He went to the foul line eight times -- quadrupling his total from Cleveland's first four preseason games.
"When he was as the point he seemed to be more assertive and aggressive. What I didn't like was the turnovers, they were at inopportune times. You give up 21 points off turnovers you're not going to be a very good team, and we're averaging 20 turnovers a game. That's cause for concern right now," Silas said.
Corey Maggette had a team-high 15 points for the Clippers, who won despite shooting 34 percent. Bobby Simmons added 14 points, and Quentin Richardson had 13. Richardson also picked up a technical foul for screaming after he scored on a dunk off a missed shot.