Balanced scoring is the solution in Philly

In the absence of LeBron James, others picked up the slack in Cleveland's 105-97 victory.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers found out what the Philadelphia 76ers already knew: A balanced scoring attack can overcome the absence of a star player.
The Cavaliers, missing the injured LeBron James, got double-figure scoring from five players and rallied from a 17-point deficit for a 105-97 victory over the 76ers on Friday night.
With James sidelined by a sprained big toe on his right foot, the Cavs mustered offense throughout the lineup -- from veterans David Wesley and Donyell Marshall to rookie guard Daniel Gibson.
The points
Drew Gooden scored 21 points and Marshall chipped in with 17 points and nine assists. Larry Hughes added 16 points, Damon Jones, who shot 0-for-8 in a loss to Philly two days earlier, added 15, and Gibson stepped up with 11 fourth-quarter points for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers had dropped five of six -- including a double-overtime loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday.
"We have a very talented group," Gooden said. "When we lost our star, I said, 'Everybody's got to step up,' and that's just what we did."
The loss spoiled another balanced effort by the 76ers, who have found some success with a deep lineup since trading star Allen Iverson to Denver and releasing Chris Webber. The fourth-quarter collapse also tarnished a triple-double by Andre Miller, who grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to go with 12 points and 13 assists.
Andre Iguodala finished with 22 points, Joe Smith had 15, Rodney Carney 14, Kyle Korver 13 and Steven Hunter 12 for Philadelphia, which again had trouble protecting a lead and had its two-game winning streak halted.
"There's no excuses, really," Miller said. "As a team at home, you kind of have to bury a team."
Street clothes
James missed his first game of the season and watched from the bench in street clothes. Cleveland coach Mike Brown said early Friday that he expects James to be available for Sunday's home game against the Phoenix Suns.
James, elected to start in next month's All-Star game, originally injured his toe on a West Coast swing earlier this month. He aggravated it in a double-overtime home loss to the Sixers, and sat out a team workout Thursday while undergoing tests. He later flew to New York to tape an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman."
At the start of the fourth quarter, Marshall hit a field goal and added two free throws. Gibson had a driving layup and two free throws, pulling the Cavs to 83-81. After a bad pass by Carney, Cleveland capitalized and tied the score on a drive by Gooden with 7:14 left.
The Cavaliers took their first lead at 85-83 on a sweeping hook by Gooden and, after the Sixers rallied to tie it at 90, Cleveland closed out the come-from-behind win with a 15-7 run, highlighted by timely baskets from nearly the entire lineup. Gibson had a 3-pointer and two free throws, and Wesley added four from the line in the run.
"From top to bottom, everybody stepped up," Brown said. "Even LeBron was into the game as much as anybody. His enthusiasm rubbed off."
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