Without Arenas, Wizards Fall To Cavs, 121-98

Plenty, plenty more on this game (and that fella named Gilbert) at our Wizards blog, Bullets Forever, and our Cavs blog, Fear The Sword. 

Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - LeBron James had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers trounced Washington, 121-98, on the same day the Wizards lost guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely to a suspension.

Shaquille O'Neal added 17 points for the Cavaliers, who bounced back after a home loss to Charlotte to post their eighth win in nine games. Anthony Parker contributed 16 points, Delonte West 14 and Anderson Varejao 12 in Cleveland's highest offensive output of the season.

Antawn Jamison had 26 points to lead the Wizards, who lost their leading scorer in Arenas for the foreseeable future. Arenas, whom the federal government is investigating for bringing a firearm into the team locker room at Verizon Center, was indefinitely banned from the league by commissioner David Stern after deciding that "his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game."

Arenas has been in the public eye ever since admitting that the incident took place. He has used the media in recent days to try and make light of the situation, prompting Stern to take action.

Randy Foye was second on Washington with 18 points in the loss, while Nick Young chipped in with 14 points as the Wizards lost for the fifth time in six contests.

Cleveland scored the game's first seven points -- five from O'Neal -- and James finished a 12-0 run later in the first with a three-point play to extend the Cavs' advantage to 24-11.

The hosts led by six, 29-23, heading to the second quarter, and a 10-0 run to start the period made it a 16-point game following a West basket more than three minutes in.

Washington closed the gap to 10 before a 12-2 burst by the Cavs ended with a James layup for a 56-36 game. It was 65-43 at halftime.

The Wizards came as close as 11 points in the third quarter -- on a Jamison layup with just under four minutes left -- but Cleveland closed the frame on a 12-4 run to take a 101-80 lead.

The Cavs coasted to the win in an uneventful fourth quarter.

The home team has won the last 11 games in this series...Arenas will not be paid during his suspension...Washington is 6-13 on the road, while Cleveland is 14-3 at home...The Cavs lead the season series, 2-1...Cleveland shot a scintillating 57.3 percent from the field, compared with 44.0 percent for Washington.