PHOENIX, (Reuters) – The last unbeaten home record in the NBA came to an end on Monday when the Cleveland Cavaliers produced a final quarter rally to see-off the Phoenix Suns 109-91.
LeBron James hit 29 points and Mo Williams 24 as the duo led a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers (21-8), while the Suns, who trailed by six with 6:50 remaining, went scoreless for more than five minutes.
“Our effort was at a pretty high level for most of the night on the defensive end,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown told reporters. “When we do that, we get good results.”
It was a strong return to form for Cleveland after a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
“We’re a veteran ball club and we know how important bounce-back games are,” James said. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted to (Sunday) but we forgot about it and moved on.”
James produced a couple of thunderous dunks and was supported by Anderson Varejao (13 points) and Delonte West (12) to prevent the Suns claiming their 20th succesive home win.
“They have a great player (James) on their team and they play off him,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.
“Contrary to what anybody may think, to get to the Eastern Conference Championship you are going to have to go through Cleveland at some point.”
Shaquille O’Neal had an uneventful return to Phoenix in his first game back since being traded from the Suns in the offseason, scoring three points and grabbing five rebounds in 19 minutes.
For Phoenix (18-10), Steve Nash recorded 18 points and 10 assists as they suffered their first home defeat since Cleveland beat them on March 12.
“We just stopped scoring,” Nash said “It didn’t necessarily have to do with their lineups. They wanted it bad, and we were indecisive. We lost our confidence down the stretch, and that was it.”