There Is No Gust in Clippers’ Sails

LeBron James was not about to let a sore left ankle, lack of sleep or blown layup affect him.

James made two three-point baskets down the stretch and scored 22 points to push Cleveland past the Clippers, 94-84, Tuesday night.

Cleveland had lost five of six before rallying for a one-point overtime victory Monday in New Orleans.

“I thought we would be a lot more tired,” said James, who received treatment on his ankle before the game and made only seven of 20 shots from the field.

“I felt OK. We ran early and just jumped on them. We worked together defensively and were just playing complete basketball.”

The win gave the Cavaliers victories in consecutive nights for the first time since Nov. 26-27 and revitalized their quest for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

“We got to bed at 3 or 4 this morning, but I thought we had an awful lot of energy,” said Brendan Malone, 3-2 since becoming Cavalier coach.

“We pushed the ball and ran off our defense. Our defense was very good.”

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 19 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots as the Cavaliers moved within 1 1/2 games of Washington for fourth place overall in the Eastern Conference.

The top four teams get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and Cleveland is 26-9 at Gund Arena.

“We want the playoffs, and we want to be at home too,” point guard Eric Snow said.

“Every team is fighting for it now, and we’re right there. We have to keep winning.”

Corey Maggette scored 26 points to lead the Clippers, who have lost four in a row on the road, where they are 7-26. Eight of their final 11 games are away from home.

The Clippers were without starter Bobby Simmons for the first time this season. The forward, averaging 16.6 points, bruised his left leg Sunday against Minnesota.

“Bobby’s the ‘X’ factor for us,” Maggette said. “He brings another edge to our team. We had to try to weather the storm and [Quinton] Ross was hurt, but that’s no excuse.”

Ross went scoreless in nine minutes and did not play in the second half because of back spasms.

“LeBron wasn’t even hitting shots,” Maggette said. “But other guys did. They played harder than we did.”

James scored 44 points and played all 53 minutes Monday night in a 109-108 overtime victory. He missed nine of his first 13 shots Tuesday, including an uncontested layup midway through the third quarter -- a play he normally finishes with a dunk.

That miss gave the Clippers a glimmer of hope and came shortly after the Cavaliers opened a 19-point lead. Elton Brand scored eight points as the Clippers closed the quarter with a 15-8 spurt.

The Clippers continued to chip away and got within 80-75. Then James made a three-point basket with 3:48 to play. James made another three-point shot with 2:13 left for an 88-77 advantage.

“Some teams underestimate our shooting,” James said. “I have no shame in pulling up for a three-pointer.”

Chris Kaman had 18 points, and Brand finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers.