Cavaliers gather to pay respects

They stopped off to attend Larry Hughes' brother's funeral in St. Louis.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates took a solemn break from their playoff series Tuesday to attend the funeral of the 20-year-old brother of guard Larry Hughes.
The Cavaliers flew to St. Louis after beating the Detroit Pistons 74-72 Monday night to even the best-of-seven second-round playoff series at 2-2. Hughes has missed the past two games -- both wins -- to be with his family following Justin Hughes' death last week.
Hundreds of people attended the service for Justin Hughes, who was born with a heart defect and had a transplant in 1997. The brothers were close -- Larry Hughes chose to play his lone season of college basketball, in 1997-98, at Saint Louis University in part to stay near his brother.
Wrote tribute to brother
In a program for the funeral service, the elder Hughes wrote a tribute to his brother: "I am my brother's keeper. My life is his world. His life is my everything."
The Cavaliers arrived together by bus at the New Sunnymount Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Most of the team sat in the first few rows of the church and during his sermon, the Rev. N.E. Owens thanked them for their support.
The team then traveled to suburban Detroit for Game 5 tonight.
Cavaliers guard Flip Murray said players hugged Hughes and his mother at the service.
"We went there to show our condolences and wish the best for him and his family," Murray said at the team's hotel.
Guard Damon Jones added: "It's a tough situation, but it was good for us to be there for him and his family."
Has missed a lot of games
In addition to missing the two playoff games, Hughes missed 45 regular season games with a serious finger injury.
The Cavaliers have worn black bands on the left shoulders of their uniforms as a memorial to Justin Hughes, who attended a few games in Cleveland this season. James and guard Jones wore sweat bands with Larry Hughes' No. 32 as well.
Justin Hughes' body started to reject the donated heart about a year ago, his transplant coordinator, Laurie Ferrer, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was hospitalized briefly in December and was in the process of being added to the transplant list when he died, Ferrer said.
Death was unexpected
He worked at a local movie theater and recently got his own apartment. His death Thursday was unexpected.
The Larry Hughes Foundation was formed in 2000 to provide emotional and financial support for families of organ donors and recipients. The foundation, formed by Larry Hughes and their mother, Vanessa Hughes, also provides education about organ and tissue donation.
Justin Hughes also participated in events in St. Louis and elsewhere to raise awareness about transplants.