LeBron James made history and became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 4000 career points. Donyell Marshall helped make sure it came in a victory.
Marshall swished a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to force overtime and rescue the Cavs from a second-half free fall. Hughes had his best all-around game and took over in crunch time. Ilgauskas had 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
James led the team with 26 points, but it was his teammates that shared equal or perhaps greater credit in a 108-100 overtime win over the Orlando Magic.
“It’s devastating … it’s a heartbreaker,” Orlando’s DeShawn Stevenson said of Marshall’s shot. “Donyell’s a good shooter. You have got to give him credit.”
“We had different guys step up down the stretch and we found a way to win,” Brown said. “We’re still in the learning process and still have a long way to go.”
Brown drew up the key play on the sideline with James as a decoy and called for Ilgauskas to set a screen on the Magic’s Pat Garrity to free Marshall. He trusted Hughes — who had a massive evening to run the play. It worked perfectly, down to Marshall’s dead-eye jumper.
“We have to sustain for 48 minutes,” Brown said. “We can’t let up. I keep pounding on that. We’re still in the learning phase.”
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