By the thousands, Cavaliers fans lined up around Gund Arena with one purpose: to get their hands on LeBron James.
LeBron James bobbleheads, that is.
PHOTO: REUTERS
More than three hours before Wednesday's scheduled tipoff against the Atlanta Hawks, several thousand fans waited in line for 10,000 giveaway bobbleheads of the Cavaliers' rookie.
"That's why we're here," said Terry Templin, who drove from Lexington, Kentucky, with five family members. "We're bobblehead collectors and this is the one to get."
Guess so.
Lines weaved around the 20,000-seat building and fans were briefly standing on Ontario Street before Cavs officials decided to open the doors 10 minutes earlier than planned.
Templin got to Cleveland on Tuesday, intent on sleeping outside so he would be among the first in line. His van was packed with sleeping bags, coolers and blankets.
"But they chased us out of here on golf carts, so we had to get a hotel room," he said.
Templin and his nephews, Mike and Kevin Deaton, got to the arena at 3pm and were the first in a line outside one of the gates.
With bidders on eBay asking for more than US$200 for one of the bobbleheads, Templin said he was tempted to cash in.
"Michael Jordan's sold for US$640, and the way it looks, LeBron's might someday be worth that much," Templin said.
As fans entered the building, they were handed a yellow voucher to be redeemed at one of four distribution tables stacked with the collectibles.
The vouchers were all handed out in less than 30 minutes.
"Ah, man," said Matt Baclawski, 16, of Lorain. "We were hoping we'd get one."
Once Templin and his nephews got in the door, they didn't waste any time, running down the arena concourse to get their limited edition bobbleheads.
"It looks like him," 14-year-old Mike Deaton said. "You have to keep it in the box because it's worth more."
Cavaliers coach Paul Silas was going to hang on to his.
"Yeah, I got one," Silas said. "I can't believe what those lines were like."
Cavaliers 112, Hawks 80
LeBron James scored 24 points in three quarters and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 as the Cavaliers rolled to a 112-80 win Wednesday over the Hawks.
The surging Cavaliers have won five of their last seven.
"We came out wanting to jump this team early," Cavs guard Jeff McInnis said. "That's what we did."
A sellout crowd of 20,562 came to Gund Arena for James' bobblehead doll night.
Carlos Boozer added 12 points and 15 rebounds and Lee Nailon added 10 points in his first game for Cleveland, which raced to a 17-point lead after one quarter and never looked back.
Stephen Jackson led Atlanta with 20 points and Jason Terry had 15 for the Hawks, who dropped their fifth straight road game.
"This is miserable," Atlanta coach Terry Stotts said. "I hate sitting on the sideline down by 30."
Wizards 84, Raptors 70
In Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 27 points and Washington won for the fourth time in five games by beating Toronto.
Donyell Marshall scored 22 to lead Toronto, which snapped a nine-game losing streak Tuesday behind Vince Carter's 27 points in his return after a six-game absence.
Washington limited the Raptors to 15 points in the third quarter and built a 65-57 advantage. Arenas had 14 points in the quarter and combined with Etan Thomas to score all of Washington's points during a 14-3 run that gave the Wizards the lead for good.
Thomas finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Bucks 105, Magic 97
In Orlando, Florida, Keith Van Horn scored 25 points and Damon Jones tied the NBA's season high with 17 assists in leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their fourth straight victory, 105-97 over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Michael Redd added 24 points, 16 after halftime, and Desmond Mason scored 22 for Milwaukee.
Jones' assists tied Stephon Marbury, who did it twice this season -- once with the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 18 and again with the New York Knicks on Jan. 16. Jones also had nine points, including a key-3-pointer, and seven rebounds without committing a turnover.
Tracy McGrady scored 20 of his 31 points after halftime for the Magic. Bothered by his cranky back, he shot 11-for-27, 5-of-15 on 3-pointers.
Knicks 88, 76ers 77
In New York, Stephon Marbury saw Tim Thomas out of the corner of his eye and flicked a no-look pass for a resounding dunk, a key play as the Knicks pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Philadelphia.
The dunk came during an 8-0 run midway through the final period as New York snapped a six-game losing streak.
Marbury scored the other six points during the run, finishing with 36 points and 10 assists, and Thomas had 16 points and 12 rebounds in his best home game since being acquired from Milwaukee 2 1/2 weeks earlier.
Minnesota 121, Dallas 97
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 19 rebounds to lead Minnesota over Dallas.
The Mavericks had won 19 of 23 games, but were playing without point guard Steve Nash for the second straight night. Nash missed the game with a stomach virus.
Troy Hudson scored 22 points and Latrell Sprewell added 20 for the Timberwolves.
Marquis Daniels and Michael Finley each scored 16 points for Dallas, while Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points, all in the first half.
Spurs 88, SuperSonics 84
In San Antonio, Tony Parker had 11 points and three steals in the fourth quarter to help San Antonio hang on for a win over Seattle.
Hedo Turkoglu led San Antonio with 18 points, going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. Parker had 17 points and a career-high six steals, while Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen each had 14 points. Rasho Nesterovic had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Murray led Seattle with 24 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, and Ray Allen scored 21 and Vladimir Radmanovic 14.
Hornets 100, Bulls 97, OT
In New Orleans, Jamal Mashburn made a turnaround 3-pointer at the final buzzer to give New Orleans an overtime win over Chicago.
Mashburn had 27 points, including a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining in regulation, which ended up forcing the extra period.
P.J. Brown scored a season-high 22 points, mostly on mid-range jumpers, while grabbing 11 rebounds for New Orleans.
Jamaal Crawford led Chicago with 34, including six 3-pointers.
Suns 87, Nets 74
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire had 32 points to become the first Phoenix player in eight years to score at least 20 points in 10 consecutive games as the Suns beat New Jersey.
The last Suns player with a double-digit, 20-point streak was Charles Barkley, who did it twice during the 1995-1996 season.
Joe Johnson scored 14 points, and Shawn Marion had 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Suns, who won for the third time in four games.
Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 26 points, and Kenyon Martin had 11 and 11 rebounds. But Phoenix had a 46-33 edge on the glass, with Jake Voskuhl getting 12 and Stoudemire 11.
Lakers 96, Rockets 93
In Houston, Shaquille O'Neal scored 28 points and Kobe Bryant hit the go-ahead basket with 32 seconds to play as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Houston.
After leading 75-64 with 10:59 to play, the Rockets got their final lead at 93-92 on a basket by Jim Jackson with 39 seconds to play but Bryant made a 22-footer seconds later and Derek Fisher completed the rally with two free throws with 9.8 seconds left.
Yao Ming had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets.
Grizzlies 97, Trail Blazers 88
In Portland, Oregon, Bonzi Wells made his first trip to Portland since the Trail Blazers let him go to brush off the boos and score 28 points in a victory for Memphis.
Pau Gasol added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, while Ruben Patterson led the Blazers with 19 points.
Pacers 101, Clippers 94, OT
In Los Angeles, Reggie Miller hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:49 left in overtime -- doubling his point total for the game, as Indiana beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ron Artest had 25 points and tied a season high with seven turnovers. Jermaine O'Neal had 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Elton Brand scored 24 points for the Clippers.
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