LeBron James ended Cleveland's 34-game road losing streak with his best shooting performance yet.
James made five 3-pointers and scored 36 points, leading the Cavaliers to an 88-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night for Cleveland's first away win since Jan. 12 at Seattle.
PHOTO: AFP
"It was great to get a road win," James said. "My teammates are seeing I'm coming into my own. I'm focused and playing hard every game."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cleveland's road losing streak tied for the second-longest in NBA history behind Sacramento's 43-game streak in the 1990-1991 and 1991-1992 seasons. New Jersey also had a 34-game streak in the 1989-1990 and 1990-1991 campaigns.
James finished 14-of-24, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. He made all three of his free throws and had four rebounds and five assists.
"I'm a natural-born leader," James said. "My teammates are coming to me now and I've been a leader all my life."
Magic 119, Warriors 93
In Orlando, Florida, Tracy McGrady had 29 points and a season-high 12 assists in leading the resurgent Orlando Magic to their largest victory margin of the season.
Drew Gooden added a season-best 25 points and 13 rebounds off the bench for his seventh double-double of the month.
Rod Strickland had 11 points and a season-high 11 assists in his second straight start as Orlando won at home for just the second time. The Magic had season highs in points, shooting (51.6 percent), field goals (49), 3-pointers (10), assists (32) and rebounding margin (23).
Orlando has won five of seven since snapping a franchise-record 19-game losing skid.
Raptors 105, Knicks 99, OT
In Toronto, Vince Carter scored 10 of Toronto's 12 points in overtime to help the Raptors end a four-game losing skid.
Donyell Marshall added 19 rebounds and 15 points for the Raptors, who are 6-4 since their big trade with Chicago.
New York's Allan Houston forced overtime on a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left, but he missed two jumpers and turned the ball over in the final 1:30 of overtime.
Houston had 33 points for the Knicks, who have lost seven straight road games and eight of 10 overall. It was their first game since a team meeting following their lopsided loss to Golden State on Tuesday.
Kings 98, Hawks 86
In Atlanta, Brad Miller had his third straight double-double and hit a big 3-pointer late to help the Kings hold off the Hawks.
Miller finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Peja Stojakovic scored 31 for the Kings, who have won six of seven games.
Atlanta guard Jason Terry, coming off his first scoreless game in more than two years, had 25 but couldn't stop the Hawks from losing their sixth in a row. Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Nets 97, Wizards 87
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Kenyon Martin had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and the Nets spoiled former assistant coach Eddie Jordan's return to New Jersey.
Richard Jefferson had 18 points and Kerry Kittles 16 as the Nets won for the sixth time in seven games and for the second time this season over Jordan and the Wizards.
The victory put the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions over the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 1, when they were 2-1.
Jarvis Hayes had 22 points and Larry Hughes 17 for the Wizards, who have lost nine of 11 and fell to 8-17 in Jordan's first season as coach.
Jazz 99, Celtics 96
In Boston, Raja Bell's jumper with 26.8 seconds left put Utah ahead for good.
Bell, who did not score until hitting the go-ahead bucket as the shot clock expired, scored the last four points of the game as the Jazz won for only the third time in 12 road games this season.
DeShawn Stevenson scored 22 points and Matt Harpring had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who led by as many as 18 in the third quarter. Andrei Kirilenko added 18 points, seven blocks, six assists and six rebounds.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 19 points and eight assists.
Grizzlies 97, Heat 83
In Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis moved five games over .500 for the first time in franchise history as Mike Miller scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures.
Miller was 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, as Memphis built a big lead before halftime and the Heat never cut it below double digits.
The win was Memphis's sixth straight at home, setting a new franchise mark. The Grizzlies also set a franchise record for wins (15) before the All-Star break.
Miami lost for the second straight time after a four-game winning streak.
Pacers 80, Pistons 75
In Indianapolis, Ron Artest scored 22 points, Jermaine O'Neal added 19 and Austin Croshere came off the bench for 12, all in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons, threatening to give the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers their first two-game losing streak this season, led by 13 points in the first half and by as many as 10 early in the final period before Indiana rallied.
Chauncey Billups led Detroit with 13 points, while Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace each added 12.
Rockets 99, Clippers 85
In Houston, Yao Ming recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Rockets never trailed after the first basket as they snapped the Clippers' four-game winning streak.
Cuttino Mobley added 22 points for Houston, followed by Steve Francis with 16, Jim Jackson with 12 and Maurice Taylor with 13 off of the bench.
Quentin Richardson led the Clippers with 20 points, while Corey Maggette had 16 and Elton Brand added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Spurs 87, SuperSonics 73
In Seattle, Tim Duncan had 27 points and 20 rebounds to lead San Antonio over Seattle for its ninth straight victory.
The defending NBA champions improved their record to 18-10, including 7-7 on the road. They can tie the Los Angeles Lakers for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season with a win at Portland on Saturday night.
Tony Parker scored 16 points and Manu Ginobili added 14 for the Spurs, who have their longest winning streak since they won 10 straight in the 2001-2002 season.
The Sonics, who lost their third straight game, got 15 points from Ronald Murray, who shot a paltry 6-for-26.
Lakers 101, Nuggets 99
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant hit a 6m jump shot at the buzzer after arriving late from a court hearing in Colorado as Los Angeles edged the Nuggets.
Bryant took the inbounds pass from Devean George, drove left, pump-faked defender Jon Barry off his feet and sank the winning jumper from the top of the key before falling on his rear end. He was mobbed by teammates, and the crowd that had welcomed him with a loud ovation at the start of the second quarter went wild.
Shaquille O'Neal had 26 points, 11 rebounds and made 10 of 17 free throws to help the Lakers end a two-game losing streak. They are 13-1 at Staples Center.
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