LeBron, Cavaliers struggle in loss

Neither team looked good, but Washington got the 81-62 win.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Exhibition? Excruciating was more fitting.

It’s a good thing the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards have a few more weeks to work out the kinks.

Antonio Daniels scored 12 points, Gilbert Arenas had nine in his first game back from offseason knee surgery and the Wizards beat the Cavaliers 81-62 Tuesday night in an NBA preseason matchup of playoff teams from last season.

LeBron James scored only three points on 1-of-5 shooting and played just 15 minutes for the Cavs, who swept the Wizards 4-0 in the first round last April on their way to an Eastern Conference title.

Daniel Gibson started at point guard for Cleveland and had 13 points. The Cavs shot just 31 percent from the floor and had 27 turnovers, a stat certain to infuriate coach Mike Brown.

Arenas was relegated to the role of cheerleader during last season’s first-round series against Cleveland after tearing up his knee in a game. A summer spent in grueling rehab sessions seems to have paid off as the All-Star moved well.

It’s his touch that was off, as Agent Zero went just 2-of-11 from the floor.

About the only highlight in a first half filled with airballs, turnovers and playground-style hoops was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Arenas that put the Wizards ahead 45-29 at the break.

Washington outscored Cleveland 29-14 in the second quarter.

The Cavaliers played without two key contributors from last season’s team: guard Sasha Pavlovic and forward Anderson Varejao. The two restricted free agents recently turned down one-year qualifying offers from the club and their agents are holding them out for long-term deals they may never get.

Cleveland appears intent on moving on without the pair, who could both end up playing in Europe.

The Cavs, who will leave on an eight-day trip to China following Friday’s game against Seattle, were also without guard Eric Snow, who underwent knee surgery last week and is expected to miss the entire exhibition season.