LeBron leads Cavs
LeBron James and the Cavaliers play like title contenders at home against the NBA’s best.
Monday night was the perfect example.
James dominated with 44 points and Cleveland defeated defending champion San Antonio 101-87 to end the Spurs’ nine-game winning streak.
Now, if the Cavs could just be as good against the bad teams.
Cleveland is 14-2 at home against teams over .500, and 5-5 against teams under .500. The win over the Spurs came two days after a lackluster home loss to Golden State.
“We have to grow up,” James said. “We can’t keep beating Phoenix, Detroit and San Antonio and then lose to sub-par teams.”
James led Cleveland with his sixth game over 40 points this season. He went 19 of 33 and added five assists, three rebounds and four steals. James scored 18 in the third quarter, tying his career high for points in a period, and had 36 through three quarters.
“He willed himself to the rim and he willed this win for us,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.
Trail Blazers 91, Bobcats 83: At Charlotte, N.C., Zach Randolph had 21 points and nine rebounds to help Portland snap a four-game losing streak by beating Charlotte.
Lakers 94, Jazz 88: At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and tied a career high with six steals – all in the first half – to help Los Angeles knock off Utah.
Bryant was 6-of-20 from the field, missing his first five shots before ending the drought on a 13-foot fadeaway jumper with 5.3 seconds left in the opening quarter. The nine-time All-Star, whose league-leading scoring average dropped from 35.2 to 34.9, averaged 43.4 points in January – including a franchise-record 81-point effort against Toronto and a streak of 62 consecutive free throws made.
Raptors 98, Timberwolves 94: At Minneapolis, Mike James scored 27 points, including two key baskets and two free throws down the stretch, to help Toronto beat Minnesota for its third straight win.
Grizzlies 81, Warriors 79: At Oakland, Calif., Pau Gasol made a short spinning jumper as time expired to give Memphis a win over Golden State.
Derek Fisher made a driving layup with just over 3 seconds left to tie it.
Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Grizzlies won consecutive games on the road for the first time since Dec. 30-31.
Hornets 97, Wizards 96: At Oklahoma City, David West hit a 20-footer from the top of the key at the buzzer to give New Orleans a win over Washington, the team’s fourth straight victory.
Mavericks 100, Knicks 72: At Dallas, Jason Terry had three of Dallas’ six 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Mavericks extended New York’s losing streak to 10 games.
Off the court
Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes will have his second surgery in six weeks on his broken right middle finger.
The surgery will be performed today by Dr. Thomas J. Graham, chief of the Curtis National Hand Center at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. The team did not say how long Hughes will be out.
Hughes, the team’s second-leading scorer, was supposed to miss six to eight weeks after having surgery Jan. 6. However, doctors concluded last week that the finger hadn’t healed as quickly as the team had hoped and that his recovery was behind schedule.
•The Hornets traded center Maciej Lampe to the Rockets for point guard Moochie Norris.
The Hornets needed a point guard after starter Chris Paul and backup Speedy Claxton were injured Wednesday against Seattle. Claxton returned from a mild concussion, and Paul is expected back soon after missing games because of bruised ribs.
•Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera is expected to miss 2-3 weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
The team’s physician cleaned out loose particles from the knee in what the team called a successful procedure. Najera has played in all 53 games this season, averaging 5.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.