Carmelo Anthony, coming off a career-high 42 points in a win over Charlotte on Tuesday night, scored 23 to lead Denver but shot just 8-of-23. The Nuggets played without Marcus Camby, inactive with a sprained right pinkie finger.
James, who had nine assists, ended a stretch of six games with 30 or more points. That could be good news for the Cavaliers, who went 1-5 with James carrying the load during that stretch.
Spurs 90, Timberwolves 88
At Minneapolis, Michael Finley scored 21 points, including the last six for San Antonio, to help the Spurs hold off Minnesota.
Kevin Garnett got the best of Tim Duncan with 24 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, but the Timberwolves dropped their third straight game when Troy Hudson's off-balance, running jumper in traffic at the buzzer fell short.
Duncan had 13 points and nine rebounds, missing four of his seven free-throw attempts. He was 5-for-20 from the foul line in his previous two games.
The Spurs, who improved to 18-4, are 16-0 when they shoot 45 percent or better from the field.
Rockets 104, SuperSonics 98
At Seattle, Tracy McGrady took over down the stretch, scoring 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and Houston won its fifth straight by beating Seattle.
A night after playing nearly 46 minutes in an overtime win at Golden State, McGrady played all but 18 seconds as the Rockets improved to 4-0 on their six-game road trip. It was Houston's first win after going 0-4 in the second game of a back-to-back.
Yao Ming added 26 points and 10 rebounds, making 12 of 15 free throws. He hit his first four shots and was 7-for-10 from the field.
Ray Allen led Seattle with 30 points, but couldn't match McGrady in the closing moments as Seattle lost its fourth straight at home.
Ron Artest's trade request will cost him US$10,000, and the NBA also fined the LA Lakers US$25,000 for coach Phil Jackson's comments about Toronto forward Chris Bosh.
Artest was penalized for "making public statements detrimental to the NBA." He expressed his desire to be traded from the Indiana Pacers in a Dec. 11 story in the Indianapolis Star, and said he wanted to play for either the Knicks or the Cavaliers.
"Public trade demands by players was a subject discussed at length during collective bargaining negotiations this summer," senior vice president and general counsel Rick Buchanan said in a statement. "The damage caused by these kinds of statements was commonly understood, as was the NBA's intention to hold players accountable for such statements going forward."
Artest is currently inactive while the Pacers seek to trade him.
The NBA said Jackson violated the league's anti-tampering rule with his comments about the Lakers' interest in Bosh when the team was in Toronto to play the Raptors on Dec. 8.
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