James Scores 24 in the Fourth as Cavs Rally to Beat Raptors

Cleveland 93, Toronto 90

TORONTO, Jan. 6 (AP) -- For three quarters he was ordinary. Then, when it mattered most, LeBron James was unstoppable.

James scored 39 points, including 24 in the fourth, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers rally for a 93-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

"In the fourth quarter, he was amazing,'' Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He just took the game over and put us on his back. What a tremendous, tremendous performance.''

James, who made eight of 10 field goal attempts in the fourth, said tuning out distractions helped his concentration.

"I just felt like I was out there by myself,'' he said. "Everything was going right for me and I just felt like I was out there in practice. The hoop felt like the ocean.''

Forward Drew Gooden has seen James take over before, but said this one was special.

"This was impressive because of the circumstances,'' Gooden said. "We were down 20 on the road and we could have easily given in. He was attacking the basket and knocking down outside shots.''

With the Cavs trailing 70-57 to begin the fourth, James scored on a layup, a free throw and back-to-back 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes. Damon Jones added two 3-pointers before James tied it at 76 with a jump shot at 6:26.

"I was able to control the tempo in the fourth quarter with my penetration,'' James said, "getting into the lane and kicking out for 3s.''

James' spurt set off alarm bells for Toronto's Jamario Moon.

"When he started hitting (shots), we knew it was going to be a long quarter,'' Moon said. "I thought we were going to hit some shots, build the lead back up a little bit and pull the win out, but he kept hitting them and they pulled it out.''

James gave Cleveland its first lead with a 3-pointer from the right wing at 3:59, then drained another 3-pointer on the Cavaliers' next possession.

"It's hard to trap a guy past the 3-point line'' Chris Bosh said. "He made two or three spot-up 3s and when a guy is doing that, it makes it very tough.''

Two free throws by Jose Calderon and a layup from Moon tied the game at 84, but James made a layup and Daniel Gibson hit a wide-open 3 from the corner to put Cleveland up by five.

Bosh had two free throws and two layups in the final minute, but Cleveland sealed the game at the free throw line.

The Cavaliers have won five of six to level their record at 17-17, returning to .500 for the first time since they were 9-9 on Dec. 2.

2007 NBA SALARIES INFO

TOP NBA PLAYER SALAries | By InsideHoops.com

1) Kevin Garnett $22,000,000
2) Shaquille O'Neal $20,000,000
3tie) Jermaine O'Neal $19,728,000
3tie) Jason Kidd $19,728,000
5) Kobe Bryant $19,490,625
6tie) Allen Iverson $19,195,312
6tie) Stephon Marbury $19,195,312
8) Tim Duncan $19,014,188
9) Tracy McGrady $19,014,187
10tie) Baron Davis $16,440,000
10tie) Shawn Marion $16,440,000
12tie) Antawn Jamison $16,360,090
12tie) Dirk Nowitzki $16,360,090
12tie) Paul Pierce $16,360,090
15) Ray Allen $16,000,000
16) Ben Wallace $15,500,000
17) Sam Cassell $15,344,000
18) Rashard Lewis $14,884,951 19) Michael Redd $14,520,000
20tie) Amare Stoudemire $13,762,775
20tie) Yao Ming $13,762,775
22) Pau Gasol $13,735,000
23) Andrei Kirilenko $13,725,000
24) Mike Bibby $13,500,000
25) Joe Johnson $13,488,378
26) Zach Randolph $13,333,333
27) Vince Carter $13,325,000
28) Rasheed Wallace $13,140,000
29tie) Carmelo Anthony $13,041,250
29tie) Dwyane Wade $13,041,250
29tie) LeBron James $13,041,250
29tie) Chris Bosh $13,041,250
33) Kenyon Martin $13,000,000
34) Richard Jefferson $12,200,000
35) Larry Hughes $12,000,084
36) Wally Szczerbiak $12,000,000
37) Gilbert Arenas $11,950,400
38) Raef LaFrentz $11,813,750
39) Peja Stojakovic $11,664,000
40) Carlos Boozer $11,593,816
41) Steve Nash $11,375,000
42) Jason Richardson $11,111,110
43) Kirk Hinrich $11,000,000