James' 50 pts lifts Cavs past Knicks

NEW YORK: LeBron James had 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

James shot 16-of-30 from the field, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range, in his second 50-point game this season. One fan in a Cavaliers jersey ran onto the floor toward the Cleveland bench before being turned away by security.

The NBA's scoring leader scored 45 points in a victory over the Knicks in Cleveland on Nov. 2. He fell two points shy of Kobe Bryant, who had a 52-point game on Sunday against Dallas, the highest in the league this season.

Damon Jones added 15 points and Devin Brown had 14 for the Cavs.

Jamal Crawford scored 25 points, Nate Robinson added 24 and Eddy Curry had 20 for the Knicks.

In Boston, Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 31 points to lead Boston to a bruising 90-78 victory over Detroit, as the Celtics became the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff berth and earned the homecourt tiebreaker over their closest competitor.

Kendrick Perkins had a career-high 20 rebounds to go with his 10 points for the Celtics.

Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups each had 23 points for Detroit.

In Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 25 points and Houston got its franchise-record 16th straight win, making the Rockets 4-0 since losing Yao Ming for the season to injury. The Rockets won 117-99.

The Rockets have won 20 of their last 21, and own the longest win streak in the NBA this season. It's Houston's seventh straight win by at least 10 points, extending a franchise record.

Rafer Alston added 21 points and had seven assists for the Rockets.

Danny Granger and Troy Murphy had 17 points apiece to lead Indiana.

In Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 13 rebounds and Denver beat Phoenix 126-113 to pull within one game of Golden State for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Allen Iverson scored 31 points to lead the Nuggets and reserve J.R. Smith added six 3-pointers and 20 points.

Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 22 points, and Shaquille O'Neal grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 12 points, but the Suns fell to 3-5 since his Suns debut.

In New Orleans, Chris Paul had 23 points and 18 assists, and New Orleans tied a franchise record with 15 3-pointers in its 116-101 victory over Atlanta.

Peja Stojakovic made six 3-pointers and led all scorers with 29 points to help the Hornets to their second straight victory and fourth in five games.

Joe Johnson scored 24 points and Mike Bibby 21 for Atlanta, which got as close as 62-59 in the third quarter but couldn't keep pace as New Orleans kept hitting from longe range.

Tyson Chandler threw down several alley-oop lobs from Paul and finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Pargo had 22 points.

In Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 21 points and 11 assists and Utah trounced Minnesota 105-76 for its 17th straight home win.

Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Mehmet Okur added 15 points and nine boards and Ronnie Brewer scored 16 for the Jazz.

Randy Foye scored 18 points and Al Jefferson had 11 points and 10 assists for the Timberwolves.

In Milwaukee, Charlie Villanueva had 32 points and 11 rebounds as Milwaukee scored a season-high 118 points in beating Seattle 118-106.

Andrew Bogut added 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee, which was playing without guard Mo Williams and forward Yi Jianlian, out with minor injuries.

Kevin Durant had 23 points for Seattle, which lost for the sixth time in seven games and dropped to 6-24 on the road.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Jason Richardson scored 42 points against his former team, and Charlotte snapped Golden State's four-game winning streak, beating the Warriors 118-109.

Richardson, who spent six seasons with the Warriors before being traded on draft night, was two points shy of his career high.

Monta Ellis scored 32 points, Baron Davis added 30 and Stephen Jackson had 21 for Golden State, which is trying to hold on to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

In Washington, Dwight Howard had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Orlando made an emphatic statement in a possible playoff preview by dominating Washington 122-92.

The Magic never trailed, took a quick 10-2 lead and hardly looked back in winning their third straight game.

Rashard Lewis had 13 of his 17 points in the first half for the Magic, and Keith Bogans went 5-for-5 in the first half for 12 of his 17 points.

Antawn Jamison scored 19 points for the Wizards, who had won four of five and were trying to get back to .500 for the first time since February 8.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/07/2008 page24)