Cavs beat Hawks for 60th victory

Friday, April 2, 2010
© Copyright 2013 Gwinnett Daily Post

CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers reached one magic number and lowered another.

LeBron James scored 27 points and Cleveland entered an elite fraternity of NBA franchises with its 60th win, scoring 14 straight points in the fourth to pull away and beat the Atlanta Hawks 93-88 on Friday night.

With their 60th win, the Cavaliers moved within one victory -- or a loss by the Los Angeles Lakers -- of clinching the league's best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Cleveland (60-16) became the ninth team to post back-to-back 60-win seasons. But while that's impressive and may look nice in the record book, the Cavaliers are chasing a title they seem more prepared than ever to go after.

Mo Williams scored 24 and J.J. Hickson added 16 rebounds for the Cavs, who trailed 76-74 before James scored nine points and Williams drained a 3-pointer during Cleveland's decisive spurt.

Josh Smith scored 20 and Jamal Crawford 17 for the Hawks, who went more than six minutes without a field goal in the fourth.

Cleveland won its 10th straight at home and improved to 34-4 this season at Quicken Loans Arena, which was at a playoff pitch throughout the game.

Gwinnett Daily Post