Cavs prevail behind James' triple-double
LeBron James continues to make difficult feats look easy.
Cleveland's star forward scored 37 points as part of his third triple-double this season in the Cavaliers' 111-108 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday in Cleveland.
"If he continues with this scoring and stats, I would hate to see the numbers at the end," Cleveland teammate Damon Jones said. "They will be off the charts."
In addition to scoring 6 points in the final minute to seal the win, James had 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the 13th triple-double of his career in the regular season.
"He's phenomenal," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He makes the triple-double seem effortless. I have to tell myself not to take it for granted."
James' performance was nearly offset by Chris Bosh, who led Toronto with 41 points to tie his career high. The 6-foot-10 forward was unstoppable near the basket, going 13-for-25 from the field and making 15 of 17 free throws.
"There is nothing I don't like about his game," Brown said. "He was incredible."
In the end, the decision went to the Cavaliers and James, who took his usual low-key approach to his performance.
"It's not really as easy as it may look," he said. "I have to do what is best for the team to win. No matter what plays I have to make, I need to do them."
The Cavaliers hit nine 3-pointers in the second half, including 6 in the third quarter, which ended with the score tied at 81-81.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas' layup midway through the fourth quarter put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 88-86.
The Cavaliers led 104-100, but Jason Kapono's 3-pointer with 57.1 seconds left made it a 1-point game. James responded by driving past two defenders to score in the lane for a 106-103 lead with 44 seconds left.
Kapono's layup cut the lead to 1 again before James' fadeaway jumper at the top of the key over Carlos Delfino put Cleveland ahead by 3 with 16.7 seconds left.
"I practice that every day," James said of the key shot. "I just took what was there."
After Anthony Parker missed a 3-pointer from the corner, Devin Brown's free throw pushed the lead to 4. Another 3-pointer by Kapono made it a 1-point game again, but James sealed the win with 2 foul shots. Jose Calderon's shot from just inside midcourt hit off the backboard.
Celtics 96, Bobcats 95: Ray Allen made a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Eddie House knocked away Jason Richardson's inbounds pass with 4.7 seconds left to send Boston past host Charlotte for the Celtics' third straight win.
Magic 120, Heat 99: Hedo Turkoglu scored 27 points, Rashard Lewis added 19, and host Orlando handed Magic coach Stan Van Gundy's former team its Eastern Conference-leading 10th loss. Dwyane Wade had 32 points for Miami.
Warriors 100, Sixers 98 (OT): Kelenna Azubuike made a 3-pointer from the left corner with 6.1 seconds left in overtime, and Golden State beat Philadelphia to finish a five-game road trip with a winning record for the first time since December 1980.
Grizzlies 124, Wizards 118: Juan Carlos Navarro scored 28 points, Rudy Gay added 27, and host Memphis overcame Antawn Jamison's 41 points and 11 rebounds to beat Washington.
Hawks 94, T'wolves 87: Josh Smith scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta erase a 21-point deficit, and the Hawks went on to beat host Minnesota.
Rockets 109, Nuggets 81: Tracy McGrady scored 35 points, and Yao Ming had 22 points and 13 rebounds as host Houston snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over Denver.
Bucks 97, Mavericks 95: Michael Redd scored 27 points and made 5 late free throws to lead host Milwaukee over Dallas.