Basketball: Cavaliers Way Too Good for Maccabi TA

Maccabi Tel Aviv was trampled by the Cleveland Cavaliers overnight Tuesday in the first game of its pre-season tour of North America, which continues Saturday at the Toronto Raptors.

Drew Gooden scored 21 points, LeBron James almost had a triple-double in 30 minutes, and the Cavaliers pulled away late in the first half for a 93-67 win.

Gooden finished 9-of-11 from the field, while James had 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Rodney Buford led Maccabi with 19 points, and Will Bynum had 13.

Maccabi stayed in touch at the start, but with the score tied at 32-32, the Cavaliers went on a 23-8 spurt over the final 8:18 of the second quarter.

They were able to open up a 55-40 halftime lead, and then held Tel Aviv to just nine points in the third.

"It's not easy playing against the best players in the world," Maccabi guard Yotam Halperin said.

"If you do not control the tempo of the game, you're going to lose."

"I don't know if it was the jet lag or what, but that was the worst game we have played," said Will Bynum.