James leads Cavs past Mavericks with 37 points

LeBron James kept his cool when his teammates lost theirs.

James scored 37 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Dallas Mavericks 100-80 Sunday in Cleveland, despite the ejection of two players.

The Cavaliers, who led by 20 points in the second quarter, looked like they would implode late in the third quarter when Robert Traylor and Drew Gooden were tossed for arguing Traylor’s foul on Jerry Stackhouse. Traylor threw his arm band into the crowd, and Gooden followed by whipping his head band into the seats.

“LeBron came up right after that and said ‘I’ve got it,’ ” Cavaliers coach Brendan Malone said. “When you have a player of his caliber saying ‘I’ve got it,’ you got it.”

James played every minute for the fourth time in nine games, including two that went to overtime, and is averaging nearly 32 points a game over that span.

“No matter how many minutes I play, I’m so determined to get to the playoffs right now that I can’t afford to get tired,” said James, who added 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points for the Mavericks.

Timberwolves 112, Kings 100: At Sacramento, Calif., Kevin Garnett had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Latrell Sprewell added 23 points and Minnesota got another big victory for their playoff hopes, beating Sacramento. Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points for the Kings, who grabbed a season-high 24 offensive rebounds – 20 in the first half.

Pacers 79, Wizards 76: At Washington, Stephen Jackson and Anthony Johnson each scored 15 points to help Indiana overcome a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat Washington and win its third straight. The loss denied the Wizards a chance to secure their first winning season since 1997-98.

Sixers 97, Celtics 93: At Boston, Allen Iverson scored 38 points for Philadelphia, which blew most of a 26-point first-quarter lead but still beat Boston to move three games behind the Celtics in the Atlantic Division. Samuel Dalembert had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Sixers. Boston’s Paul Pierce had 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Bucks 106, Knicks 102: At Milwaukee, Mo Williams made four free throws and Desmond Mason added another in the final 16 seconds as Milwaukee snapped its eight-game losing streak by beating New York. Michael Redd had 32 points to lead the Bucks.

Clippers 111, Hawks 91: At Atlanta, Elton Brand scored a season-high 33 points as Los Angeles had only its second road victory in two months, beating lowly Atlanta. Josh Childress led Atlanta with 23 points.

Pistons 113, Raptors 103: At Toronto, Chauncey Billups scored eight of his 26 points during a decisive fourth-quarter run and Detroit beat Toronto. Richard Hamilton had 19 points, tied a season-high with 11 assists and had nine rebounds for the Pistons.

Grizzlies 102, Lakers 82: At Memphis, Tenn., fading Los Angeles lost Kobe Bryant and yet another game, falling to Memphis. The Lakers, already short-handed with Chris Mihm hurt and Lamar Odom placed on the injured list before the game, got limited time from Bryant, who left the game in the second quarter with a right leg injury. Bryant was kicked in the shin during the team’s loss in San Antonio on Saturday and he aggravated the injury against the Grizzlies.

Suns 91, Rockets 78: At Houston, Shawn Marion had 23 points and 18 rebounds to lead Phoenix over Houston for its fifth straight win. Yao Ming led Houston with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Off the court

Celtics forward Antoine Walker missed the game against the 76ers because of a deep bruise in his left knee, and coach Doc Rivers said the star forward might be out all week. Walker was injured Friday against Atlanta. When he arrived at the arena Sunday, he couldn’t run, Rivers said. … The Grizzlies placed forward Stromile Swift on the injured list with an irregular heartbeat prior to the game against the Lakers.