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James Doubtful Tonight

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From Associated Press

LeBron James, who sprained his right ankle during a win at Utah over the weekend, is not expected to play tonight when the Cleveland Cavaliers play host to Seattle.

“He wasn’t walking too good on it,” Cavalier Coach Paul Silas said Monday after practicing without his 19-year-old star and leading scorer.

Silas is planning for James to sit out at least one game -- and perhaps a few more.

“We just have to make do until he comes back,” he said. “If he doesn’t play, somebody will have to step in and step up. We’ve got to win games.”

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If the potential loss of James wasn’t troubling enough, the Cavaliers learned that they also will play tonight without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas received a one-game suspension without pay by the NBA on Monday for throwing a punch at Jazz center Greg Ostertag in Saturday’s game.

Ilgauskas’ suspension will cost him $150,000. Ostertag also was suspended for one game.

Further, the club could be without forward Darius Miles, who never made it to practice Monday.

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Miles was a no-show for the team’s first workout since returning from a six-game trip.

“It’s a concern when he’s not here,” Silas said. “I’m not one to cut off my nose to spite my face. If he has a legitimate excuse, he’ll be fined and life goes on. If it isn’t, we’ll deal with it. I don’t like to prejudge, but it better be a good excuse.”

Miles’ agent, Jeff Wechsler, didn’t clear up why his client never arrived for practice.

“It’s between Darius and the team,” he said.

James (20.4) and Ilgauskas (14.1) account for more than one-third of Cleveland’s scoring.

James scored 29 points before twisting his ankle when he landed on the foot of Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko in the final seconds of regulation in Saturday’s comeback victory -- Cleveland’s first at Utah since 1989.

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The Phoenix Suns put forward Antonio McDyess on the injured list and activated forward/center Maciej Lampe.

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Both players came to the Suns from the New York Knicks two weeks ago in the Stephon Marbury trade.

McDyess will sit out a minimum of five games because of tendinitis in his left knee.

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