Cavs roll past Grizzlies minus West

LeBron James had 15 points in just 30 minutes as Cleveland won 94-79.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Daniel Gibson scored 19 points and Mo Williams added 18, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 94-79 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers never trailed, making for a relatively easy night for LeBron James, the NBA’s second-leading scorer. James scored 15 points in 30 minutes and didn’t play the fourth quarter, thanks to Cleveland’s big lead throughout the game.

Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick scored 13 points apiece for Memphis, which lost its fifth straight.

The Cavaliers were without guard Delonte West, who was inactive two nights after returning from a fractured right wrist that sidelined him for 16 games. The team announced before the game their starting shooting guard is experiencing general soreness in the wrist. With a 44-11 record, the Cavaliers want to be cautious with West as they eye playoff positioning and the postseason.

West scored 25 points in his return Sunday against Detroit after fracturing the wrist on Jan. 15. Sunday’s game marked the first time since Dec. 30 that the Cavaliers, who have been dealing with injuries all season, had their complete starting lineup on the floor.

West’s absence didn’t matter against the Grizzlies, who fell to 3-22 on the road. The Cavaliers have won five straight and are 26-1 at home, but face a difficult road trip that features four games in five nights, beginning Thursday in Houston. The trip includes games in San Antonio, Atlanta and Miami.

This game was an easy tuneup for the trip. The Cavaliers jumped to a 12-4 lead and added a 14-6 run to end the period. Cleveland steadily built the lead, which reached 58-36 at halftime.

Gibson had 12 points in the first half, making 5-of-8 from the field.

Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur scored 12 apiece for Memphis.

Joey Crawford was part of the officials’ crew, marking the first time the veteran referee officiated a Cleveland game since his controversial call decided the Cavaliers’ 96-95 loss in Indiana on Feb. 10. Cleveland coach Mike Brown criticized Crawford following the game and was fined $25,000 by the league.

Crawford whistled James for a foul on Pacers forward Danny Granger in the final second. Crawford felt James made contact with Granger, who sank one free throw to give Indiana the win. Brown claimed Crawford made a predetermined — or makeup — call against James, who had been involved in a similar play moments earlier when Granger was whistled for a foul while trying to defend an alley-oop pass intended for James.

“That incident happened,” Brown said before the game. “I got penalized for it. I’m OK with that and I’ve moved on.”

James avoided saying anything inflammatory before the game.

“I came to play the Grizzlies, I didn’t come to play Joey Crawford,” he said.

There were no incidents between Crawford and the Cavaliers on Tuesday.