James’ Fourth Triple-Double Leads Cavs Past Pacers

Cleveland 111, Indiana 106

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 25 (AP) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers were having a blast laughing at the Indiana Pacers for about 2 1/2 quarters.

The joke almost was on them.

Indiana erased a 14-point deficit in the third quarter before Cleveland rallied behind LeBron James' fourth triple-double of the season to beat the Pacers 111-106 Sunday for their third straight win.

Cleveland's obnoxious behavior and the lapse that followed bothered coach Mike Brown.

"We have to do a better job of respecting the game,'' he said. "Especially when we're up. We've got to continue doing the little things on both ends of the floor that got us the lead.''

James, the league's leading scorer, finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Iverson’s 37 Lead Nuggets Past Cavs

Denver 122, Cleveland 100

DENVER, Nov. 12 (AP) -- Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were the headliners, but Allen Iverson and J.R. Smith stole the show.

Iverson scored a season-high 37 points and Smith added 29 to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-100 on Monday night.

"They didn't steal my spotlight,'' said Anthony, who had 22 points and nine rebounds. "They did what they were supposed to do. They took advantage of the defense that they threw at us.''

Iverson set the tone early with his sharp shooting. He had 18 points at halftime, when the Nuggets took a 58-43 lead. He came out firing in the second half, scoring 11 points in the first six minutes, including two 3-poiners, to push Denver's lead to 78-51.

"I got into a rhythm in the second half,'' said Iverson, who finished 14-for-20 from the field and added eight assists. "The basket looked like an ocean; I was throwing rocks in. It feels good when you catch a rhythm like that.''

LeBron James led Cleveland with 27 points, but the Nuggets were able to contain the rest of the Cavaliers.

"Even though LeBron had a great game, his great game came from getting fouled,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We took away what we wanted to take away, him making other people better.''

The Cavaliers struggled offensively. They shot 41.9 percent from the field and were 21-for-38 from the foul line.

"I'm not too disappointed,'' James said. "We did a lot of things that we wanted to do differently. We didn't execute offensively or defensively. I think we tried to do some things right.''

Even though his team was playing its fifth game in seven days, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown said fatigue was not an excuse.

"Denver got off a (four)-game road trip in a short amount of time,'' he said. "It wasn't as if they were sitting here for five days waiting on us.''

LeBron’s Big Second Half Lifts Cavs Over Kings

Cleveland 93, Sacramento 91

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 9 (AP) -- Four years after LeBron James made his NBA debut in Arco Arena, he can perform much greater feats with a whole lot less effort.

Back in 2003, the teenage phenom put in a full night of relentless effort in an outstanding first outing. These days, the King of the Eastern Conference can take most of the night off and still flatten the Sacramento Kings.

James rallied the Cavaliers with eight points on a series of dynamic moves in the final 2:57, and Cleveland hung on for a 93-91 victory Friday night.

James finished with 26 points despite seeming to sit back and watch much of the Cavs' fourth game in six nights. He scored just seven points in the first half, and was passive for much of the second until rising up for his late flurry, capped by a beautiful three-point play with 53 seconds left.

"You've just got to seize the moment,'' James said. "For the first three quarters, I didn't force anything. I like to just take what the offense gives me, and I make plays happen. In the fourth, I was able to get some rebounds and force the issue more, and it turned into good things. The team did a great job feeding off me.''

Nowitzki, Mavericks Golden Against Warriors

By GREG BEACHAM
Posted Nov 9 2007 3:09AM

Dallas 120, Golden State 115

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 8 (AP) -- Baron Davis lined up a straightaway 3-point shot to tie it in the waning seconds, and the Golden State crowd rose while the Mavericks' hearts sank.

From Dirk Nowitzki to the peanut vendors, everybody assumed the man who became a Bay Area folk hero with his dynamic playoff performances against Dallas last spring would hit another magical shot to hurt the Mavs.

"We gave Baron a look like that, and it looked like he was going to get it,'' Nowitzki admitted.

But Baron blew it, and the Dallas Mavericks fled Oracle Arena with a 120-115 victory over the winless Golden State Warriors on Thursday night -- and a bit of hollow revenge from their historic playoff defeat in the same arena they finally silenced.

Nowitzki scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, while Jason Terry and Josh Howard both had 24 points as the Mavericks snapped a five-game regular season losing streak against an opponent that always brings out the worst in one of the NBA's best franchises.

Until Davis' 3-point attempt clanged off the front of the rim with 4 seconds to play, the Mavericks were all but expecting a calamity. They lost three games in Oakland last spring in front of frenzied crowds as Davis led the eighth-seeded Warriors to the NBA's first upset of a top-seeded opponent in a seven-game series.

"We're always going to look at how that season ended,'' Nowitzki said. "That won't leave us, but this is a young team, and our team may still have its time.''

With a whole lot less at stake Thursday night, the Mavericks needed strong efforts from every veteran to hang on against an 0-5 Golden State team with 10 players in uniform. No matter the circumstances, the Mavs finally moved their biggest mental block a few inches.

LeBron Just Misses Triple-Double in Win Over Warriors

Cleveland 108, Golden State 104

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 6 (AP) -- The water-saturated stat sheet floated between LeBron James' shins as he soaked his feet in the ice bath. Lifting one swollen eyelid, he could just make out his numbers: 24 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and three big blocked shots.

Yet the most eye-popping parts of James' all-out effort in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 108-104 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night weren't reflected in that soggy box score.

For starters, James took an accidental blow to the face in the first quarter, but barely missed 90 seconds before returning. He barked orders at his teammates with authority, and he demanded a fourth-quarter defensive assignment on Baron Davis.

And when the Warriors triple-teamed him with the game on the line, James got what coach Mike Brown termed "the big hockey assist,'' making the pass that led to the pass that set up the shot that won it for Cleveland.

Allen’s 3-Pointer Help Celtics Tame Raptors in OT

Boston 98, Toronto 95

TORONTO, Nov. 4 (AP) -- Ray Allen made the winning 3-pointer with less than 3 seconds to play, and finished with 33 points in the Boston Celtics' 98-95 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Kevin Garnett scored 10 of his 23 points in overtime and added 13 rebounds, giving him double-doubles in both of his games for Boston this season.

Paul Pierce added 13 points for Boston (2-0), and James Posey had 11. T.J. Ford led Toronto (2-1) with 32 points, and Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics played without head coach Doc Rivers, who left Toronto early Sunday after his father died in Chicago. Assistant Tom Thibodeau took over for Rivers.

Ford tied it at 95 on a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left in overtime, but Allen won it with a 3 from the corner on Boston's final possession.

Allen, who made 11 of 16 shots, passed 17,000 points for his career.

Boston held a 11-point lead after three quarters before Toronto rallied behind Bosh. His basket made it 78-76 with under 1 minute left. Ford tied the game at 78 with a lay-up with 27 seconds left.

Pierce had a chance to win the game in regulation but his jumper from just outside the top of the key went wide, sending the game into overtime.

Allen scored 13 first-quarter points as Boston built a 23-14 lead. The Celtics led 38-31 at the half.

McGrady’s 47 Sparks Rockets Past Jazz

Houston 106, Utah 95

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 1 (AP) -- Tracy McGrady said he didn't hold a grudge against Utah for last season's opening-round loss in the playoffs.

But what he said and how he played were quite different.

McGrady scored 47 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 106-95 Thursday night, earning a little revenge for last season's playoffs, when Houston won the first two games but lost the series.

"It doesn't really mean anything. It's only the second game of the season,'' said McGrady, who was 17-for-27 from the floor.

The Rockets improved to 2-0 under new coach Rick Adelman, who wasn't with Houston for Utah's first-round comeback last spring.

McGrady was, and seemed to take it personally with his 42nd career 40-point game. He also had more help than he did in the postseason, when the Rockets basically counted on he and Yao Ming to beat the Jazz.

Nuggets over Sonics

The Nuggets spoiled rookie Kevin Durant's regular-season debut with a 120-103 win as Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points and Allen Iverson had 25 points, 14 assists and seven steals in the Nuggets' season-opening win in Denver on Wednesday.