PITTSBURGH (AP) – Luke Jackson had 14 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 96-86 victory over the Boston Celtics in an NBA exhibition game on Tuesday night.
Paul Pierce had 18 points and seven rebounds for Boston in its preseason opener.
The Cavaliers played without All-Star guard LeBron James, who was not in uniform as a precaution after he strained his left pectoral muscle on Monday night in Cleveland’s 116-94 victory over the Washington Wizards.
James experienced pain Monday and team physician Dr. Richard Parker advised him to sit out the game. James is listed as day-to-day.
Cleveland trailed 20-6 about four minutes into the game, but the Cavaliers outscored Boston 39-21 the remainder of the first half and 26-20 in the third quarter. Donyell Marshall had three 3-pointers and 13 points for Cleveland, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 12 points and Drew Gooden 11. The Cavaliers were 29-for-40 at the free throw line. The Celtics held a 45-34 rebounding advantage and outscored the Cavaliers 40-28 in the paint.
The game at Mellon Arena drew a crowd of 8,112.
AP-ES-10-11-05 2241EDT
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