CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- In his first NBA win, LeBron James got a little help from his high school friends.
James teamed with Darius Miles and DeSagana Diop to lift the Cavaliers to a 111-98 victory over the Washington Wizards that ended their season-opening five-game slide.
With the hoopla around the 18-year-old James having died down, it became evident that the Cavaliers still have a long way to go until they can contend in the Eastern Conference. Friday's one-point loss in Indiana was a good sign, but Cleveland came in as one of two winless teams in the NBA.
James had what is becoming his customary all-around solid game, collecting 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. But he finally was able to smile afterward, thanks to nice contributions from Miles and Diop, both of whom also entered the NBA directly from high school.
The 6-9 Miles, taken third overall by the Los Angeles Clippers three years ago, scored a career-high 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting, adding seven assists. He had eight points in an 13-2 run that gave the Cavaliers a 94-80 advantage.
"He was on fire," James said. "When you're on fire, you have to keep shooting."
Diop, selected eighth overall by the Cavaliers in 2001, had five blocks for the second time in as many nights. The native of Senegal's only basket came in the decisive spurt.
"I just want to go in there and play hard," Diop said. "I am more relaxed."
"He had two big blocks and two offensive rebounds (down the stretch)," Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. "He's just going all out. Defensively, he's really giving us a lift."
Ricky Davis scored 23 of his 26 points in the second half and Carlos Boozer added 19 points for Cleveland, which gave Silas his first win with the club.
"It's a load off of everybody's shoulders, the players, the organization, everybody," Silas said. "I did not think that we would go 0-for-82, but to get that first win, it's pretty gratifying."
"Everybody played well tonight. We came together as a team," James said. "We're excited about getting the monkey off our backs."
Gilbert Arenas and rookie Jarvis Hayes scored 22 points apiece for the Wizards (3-3), who came in surprisingly in first place in the Atlantic Division. Coach Eddie Jordan was unhappy with his team's discipline.
"I thought we took too many risks defensively," Jordan said. "They got layups and we didn't protect the basket."
Arenas did not start the second half for what Jordan termed "disciplinary reasons." The Wizards were within 81-78 with nine minutes to go before the Cavaliers took control. Boozer made a free throw and Diop had a block, then converted a jumper at the other end.
Miles made Cleveland's next four baskets - a driving dunk, a layup and two jumpers - around a basket by Washington's Etan Thomas, extending the lead to 92-80 midway through the period. James dropped in a hoop to cap the burst.
"D-Miles wasn't going to let us lose," Silas said.
Cleveland got sloppy, and Washington closed to 99-92 on a 3-pointer by Hayes with 2:07 remaining. The Cavaliers threw away a pass, but James got it back with a steal and thunderous flying breakaway dunk.
Cleveland shot 52 percent (44-of-84) and held a 42-38 advantage on the glass. Larry Hughes scored 20 points for Washington, which shot 45 percent (40-of-89).
Davis scored just three points in the first half, which ended with Washington holding a 47-46 lead. He scored 11 points in the third quarter, helping Cleveland take a 75-73 lead into the final period.
"Darius was shooting the ball pretty good and Ricky was playing pretty good with LeBron," Hayes said. "We just crumbled at the end."
