No LeBron? No problem

It wasn't pretty, but Cleveland rallied to beat New York 91-87.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James leaned back and yawned. The Cavaliers didn't wake up until it was almost too late.
James, resting a sprained left ankle for the NBA playoffs, missed his first game this season on Thursday night and could only cheer as his teammates rallied for a 91-87 win over the injury-thinned New York Knicks.
Larry Hughes scored 26 points with 13 rebounds and Donyell Marshall and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 points apiece for the Cavaliers, who were lifeless for 31/2 quarters before storming back to win their 10th straight at home.
Cleveland trailed by seven entering the fourth and was still down 80-71 with 5:33 left before reeling off nine straight points to tie it on a short turnaround jumper by Ilgauskas with 2:17 to go.
On New York's next possession, Cavaliers guard Eric Snow reached in and poked the ball away from Jalen Rose near the foul line and the ball went to Hughes, whose layup made it 82-80 with 1:56 remaining.
James, nattily dressed in a yellow vest and silk tie under a black sports coat, bounced off the bench and bumped chests with Damon Jones as a sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena roared in a tuneup for the postseason.
Big shot
Jamal Crawford countered with a 3-pointer for the Knicks, but Flip Murray, who has made so many big shots since coming to the Cavaliers in a trade on Feb. 23., drilled a 3 with the 24-second shot clock about to expire and 41.2 seconds left.
The Knicks stretched the game as deep as they could by fouling, but Murray made four straight free throws and Ilgauskas dropped in a pair in the final 18.8 seconds as the Cavaliers improved to 48-30 -- 30-10 at home.
Cleveland's victory total is its highest since winning 54 in 1992-1993.
Nate Robinson, starting in place of Steve Francis (back), scored 32 points and Crawford added 19 and nine assists for New York, which is also without Stephon Marbury, Channing Frye and Quentin Richardson.
Knicks coach Larry Brown, who has had a tumultuous first season in New York, became ill and left the bench in the third quarter. A team spokesman said the 65-year-old Brown complained that he wasn't feeling well. Brown was checked out by the Cavs' team doctor and did not return to the sideline.
Assistant Herb Williams ran the club the rest of the way.
Without James, the club's unquestioned leader, Cleveland didn't look like it was ready for the postseason for most of the game. And, if not for their third-year superstar, the Cavs wouldn't be playing beyond next week anyway.
During a particularly lackluster portion of the second quarter, James seemed to struggle to stay awake on the bench while watching the Cavs and Knicks fire up bricks.
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