<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Larry Hughes defended Gilbert Arenas so closely on Tuesday night, it was as if he knew Arenas' every move. Hughes did. The duo spent time as teammates in Golden State and with the Washington Wizards. Hughes spent hours defending Arenas during practices. He also picked up his tendencies during games. That time together and a second-half scoring surge by LeBron James were crucial to the Cavaliers' 114-99 victory over the Washington Wizards at The Q. James scored a season-high 37, and he collected 10 rebounds as the Cavs (6-2) won their fifth straight overall and their fourth straight at home. Hughes had 22 points and eight assists. Donyell Marshall scored 16 off the bench, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 12. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards (5-2) with 26 points and 12 rebounds. This, however, was about Hughes, who left the Wizards after three seasons to sign a $65 million deal with the Cavs last summer. The victory guaranteed his satisfaction. "This feels good," Hughes said. "I wanted to play better from start to finish. We have a good team, so when guys are lacking, other guys are stepping up. It was definitely big to get a win against those guys." Stopping or containing Arenas is the key to any victory against the Wizards. Arenas is quickly becoming one of the premier point guards in the league. Arenas came into Tuesday's game fourth in scoring at 28.5 points per game. He scorched the San Antonio Spurs last week with 43 points. His combination of quickness and outside shooting ability is remarkable. Hughes, however, contained Arenas enough during the first three quarters -- on 2-of-12 shooting -- to help the Cavs to an 82-70 lead. "Putting Larry on me was big because he knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do," said Arenas, who finished with 18 points, eight assists and six turnovers. "He knows all of our plays, and that made it difficult for us." </div> Source
