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James nets 48 as Cavs down Hawks again
Source: Agencies |
January 1, 2010, Friday
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LEBRON James would not let the Atlanta Hawks spoil his 25th birthday, scoring a season-best 48 points to rally the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 106-101 victory on Wednesday.
Anderson Varejao gift-wrapped the win on a tie-breaking three-pointer with 17.2 seconds to play. Varejao's first career three-pointer gave Cleveland the lead for good at 104-101 after they had trailed by as many as 17 early in the third quarter.
"That was a great gift," James, who had lost all three of the previous NBA games he played on his birthday, said. "I had Andy in the (holiday) gift exchange and he paid me back. That's what friends are for."
Varejao said with time winding down on the shot clock, he did not have time to think. "All I could do was shoot the ball and I'm glad it went in," said the Brazilian, who finished with 14 points.
The shot was initially ruled a two-pointer, but after review officials ruled Varejao had his feet behind the three-point line.
The play helped complete back-to-back wins over the Hawks for the Cavaliers, who won 95-84 in Atlanta on Tuesday.
The Central Division leaders have now won six in a row and beaten Atlanta eight consecutive times.
James also had 10 rebounds and six assists as Cleveland won an 11th successive game at home. Joe Johnson had 35 for Atlanta and Mike Bibby added 20.
"I think we should have won this game," said Bibby, who missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining. "I think (the Cavaliers) know that too."
The Hawks were particularly upset that game officials did not reset the 24-second shot clock after Cleveland's Mo Williams missed a shot, giving Atlanta, who led 99-98, about 12 seconds to shoot.
Josh Smith lost the ball to James while trying to hurry a shot, and Varejao scored on a putback to give Cleveland the lead at 100-99 with 1:31 to play.
"That was kind of like a momentum swing," Smith said. "I thought that one official is supposed to check the clock and not all three of them (paying) attention to the game."
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye scored 26 points each as the Suns topped the Boston Celtics 116-98 and handed the visitors their third straight loss.
Eddie House led the Celtics with 19 points, going 5 of 7 on 3s. Ray Allen managed 15 points of 4 of 13 shooting.
In Orlando, Florida, Vince Carter overcame a hard collision to score 25 points and rally the Magic past the Milwaukee Bucks 117-92.
Carter was thrust under the courtside seats on a hard hit by Ersan Ilyasova late in the third quarter that gave Orlando a brief scare. The Magic's star shooting guard shook off the pain and never exited, igniting a 17-2 run that helped them pull away.
Dwight Howard had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Williams added 16 points to help Orlando rebound from its Christmas Day loss to Boston.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brook Lopez had 21 points and 14 rebounds as New Jersey posted a rare victory - 104-95 - to snap a 10-game losing streak with a blowout of New York.
Yi Jianlian added 22 points, Chris Douglas-Roberts had 17 and Devin Harris had 17, eight assists and seven rebounds as New Jersey (3-29) ended its second double-digit losing streak of the season.
Elsewhere, it was: Raptors 107, Bobcats 103; Hornets 95, Heat 91; Grizzlies 121, Pacers 110; Jazz 107, Timberwolves 103; Trail Blazers 103, Clippers 99; and 76ers 116, Kings 106.
Anderson Varejao gift-wrapped the win on a tie-breaking three-pointer with 17.2 seconds to play. Varejao's first career three-pointer gave Cleveland the lead for good at 104-101 after they had trailed by as many as 17 early in the third quarter.
"That was a great gift," James, who had lost all three of the previous NBA games he played on his birthday, said. "I had Andy in the (holiday) gift exchange and he paid me back. That's what friends are for."
Varejao said with time winding down on the shot clock, he did not have time to think. "All I could do was shoot the ball and I'm glad it went in," said the Brazilian, who finished with 14 points.
The shot was initially ruled a two-pointer, but after review officials ruled Varejao had his feet behind the three-point line.
The play helped complete back-to-back wins over the Hawks for the Cavaliers, who won 95-84 in Atlanta on Tuesday.
The Central Division leaders have now won six in a row and beaten Atlanta eight consecutive times.
James also had 10 rebounds and six assists as Cleveland won an 11th successive game at home. Joe Johnson had 35 for Atlanta and Mike Bibby added 20.
"I think we should have won this game," said Bibby, who missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining. "I think (the Cavaliers) know that too."
The Hawks were particularly upset that game officials did not reset the 24-second shot clock after Cleveland's Mo Williams missed a shot, giving Atlanta, who led 99-98, about 12 seconds to shoot.
Josh Smith lost the ball to James while trying to hurry a shot, and Varejao scored on a putback to give Cleveland the lead at 100-99 with 1:31 to play.
"That was kind of like a momentum swing," Smith said. "I thought that one official is supposed to check the clock and not all three of them (paying) attention to the game."
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire and Channing Frye scored 26 points each as the Suns topped the Boston Celtics 116-98 and handed the visitors their third straight loss.
Eddie House led the Celtics with 19 points, going 5 of 7 on 3s. Ray Allen managed 15 points of 4 of 13 shooting.
In Orlando, Florida, Vince Carter overcame a hard collision to score 25 points and rally the Magic past the Milwaukee Bucks 117-92.
Carter was thrust under the courtside seats on a hard hit by Ersan Ilyasova late in the third quarter that gave Orlando a brief scare. The Magic's star shooting guard shook off the pain and never exited, igniting a 17-2 run that helped them pull away.
Dwight Howard had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Williams added 16 points to help Orlando rebound from its Christmas Day loss to Boston.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brook Lopez had 21 points and 14 rebounds as New Jersey posted a rare victory - 104-95 - to snap a 10-game losing streak with a blowout of New York.
Yi Jianlian added 22 points, Chris Douglas-Roberts had 17 and Devin Harris had 17, eight assists and seven rebounds as New Jersey (3-29) ended its second double-digit losing streak of the season.
Elsewhere, it was: Raptors 107, Bobcats 103; Hornets 95, Heat 91; Grizzlies 121, Pacers 110; Jazz 107, Timberwolves 103; Trail Blazers 103, Clippers 99; and 76ers 116, Kings 106.
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