James dispatches Bucks
LeBron James had another great scoring night, but it was his leadership with the game on the line that sealed the victory.
James scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his sixth career triple-double, to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
James, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the first half, took over in the fourth and led the Cavaliers to their eighth win in nine games.
The Bucks led 67-62 after the third, but James erased that lead with 11 points in a 16-0 run to start the fourth. His second 3-pointer of the surge pushed Cleveland’s lead to 78-67 with 7:27 left to play.
“LeBron continues to amaze me,” first-year coach Mike Brown said. “He got a triple-double tonight which was awesome. It’s easy to take him for granted when he does because it just seems so natural for him.”
James kept Cleveland in control when he put back his own miss after muscling in for the rebound that gave Cleveland an 83-71 lead with 4:21 remaining.
James was 6 of 10 from the floor, including 2 of 4 from behind the arc in the fourth. He grabbed six rebounds, five of them defensive, had four assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
“I got in a comfort level, and I took over the game,” James said. “My guys, you know, were with me.”
Spurs 106, Trail Blazers 75: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 18 points and San Antonio held Portland to three field goals in the fourth quarter to cruise to a win.
San Antonio limited Portland to 9-for-32 shooting in the second half and the Spurs had 57 rebounds, including 20 on the offensive end. The Spurs outscored the Blazers 28-11 in the final quarter.
Celtics 109, Bobcats 106: At Boston, Paul Pierce had 31 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and Ricky Davis added 23 points to help Boston beat Charlotte.
Orien Greene’s driving layup with 57.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter broke a 102-all tie and gave the Celtics the lead for good. Bernard Robinson missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Suns 105, 76ers 85: At Phoenix, Steve Nash scored 24 points and sat out the fourth quarter while Phoenix completed a rout of Philadelphia for its fifth victory in six games.
Nuggets 106, Pacers 86: At Denver, Earl Boykins and Carmelo Anthony each scored 23 points in Denver’s victory over Indiana.
Hornets 107, Heat 92: At Oklahoma City, Desmond Mason scored 24 points and New Orleans overcame Dwyane Wade’s second career triple-double for a win against Miami.
Timberwolves 91, Mavericks 78: At Minneapolis, Marko Jaric scored 22 points to spark Minnesota over Dallas for its third win in 11 games.
Raptors 121, Magic 97: At Toronto, rookie Charlie Villanueva scored 24 points and Toronto shot a franchise-record 63 percent from the field in a rout of Orlando.
Off the court
Orlando forward Grant Hill was placed on the inactive list because of a strained groin. Hill, who missed the first 19 games this season after sports hernia surgery, was averaging 17.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in nine games. … Guard Larry Hughes, Cleveland’s second-leading scorer, will miss the next six to eight weeks with a broken finger. … Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson wants to be a part of the U.S. team for the 2006 world championships and 2008 Olympics, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. … Chicago center Tyson Chandler is expected to miss a week with a sprained right ankle. … Houston waived rookie guard John Lucas III and forward Josh Davis, less than a week after signing them. … Utah assigned second-round draft pick C.J. Miles, 18, to Albuquerque of the NBA Development League.