Cavaliers beat 76ers to clinch No. 1 spot in East
Category Sports | Thursday, December 17th, 2009
PHILADELPHIA — The road to the NBA finals in the East has to go through Cleveland.
LeBron James had 27 points and 10 assists, Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 18 and the Cavaliers beat the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 102-92 Friday night to clinch the No. 1 playoff seed and home-court advantage in the conference.
No team has played better at home this season than the Cavs. They’re 38-1 at Quicken Loans Arena, with the only loss coming against the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 8. Cleveland (64-15) entered with a half-game lead over the Lakers for the best record in the league.
Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 26. The Sixers (40-39) have lost four straight since clinching a playoff berth. They came in one game behind Miami for fifth place in the East.