It's taken LeBron James less than five seasons to make his point.
"King James" tossed in 29 points to become the Cleveland Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer as the reigning Eastern Conference champions beat the Toronto Raptors 90-83 on Friday for their ninth consecutive home victory.
James entered the contest needing five points to break Brad Daugherty's mark of 10,389 in 548 games. A driving scoop layup at the 4:11 mark of the first quarter gave him the record and earned the local hero a rousing standing ovation from his adoring fans at the Quick and Loan Arena.
PHOTO: AP
"I never set out to be the all-time scorer in franchise history," said James, who has accumulated 10,414 points in 380 games. "I just wanted to be the best player I could be every night, get better and help our team. I never dreamed it, but now that it's here, it's an unbelievable experience and the fans showed their appreciation by supporting me every night."
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown praised his young superstar leader, saying: "I am extremely proud of LeBron and to get that franchise record now is absolutely freakin' amazing. The crazy thing about it is he's just 23."
James finished the first half with just six first-quarter points. However, the league's top gun and a favorite MVP candidate, torched Toronto for 23 after intermission, including 11 with just over seven minutes left to play.
With the Cavs ahead by two, James drove in for his second thunderous dunk of the period, giving the hosts an 81-77 advantage. He drilled a three-pointer with 3:02 left, pushing the lead to 86-79.
Leading 88-83, Joe Smith buried a jumper from the left corner with 13.8 seconds left to close out the victory.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points with 10 rebounds for the Cavs (40-30) while reserves Devin Brown and Damon Jones finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Chris Bosh tallied 24 points, while Rasho Nesterovic had 16 for Toronto (35-34), which has lost four of its last six games.
Rockets 109, Warriors 106
At Oakland, California, Tracy McGrady scored 26 points, Bobby Jackson hit an improbable three-pointer and the Rockets got back to their winning ways.
Houston had lost two straight following a 22-game winning streak that was the second longest in NBA history.
The power-packed Western Conference gave the Rockets little cushion and a third straight loss would have dropped them into a tie for sixth place with San Antonio in the conference.
Instead, they rode the all-around play from McGrady and clutch shooting from Jackson to move within percentage points of New Orleans for the lead in the Southwest Division.
Baron Davis scored 27 points and Monta Ellis added 24 to lead the Warriors.
Lakers 130, SuperSonics 105
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and seven of his teammates also scored in double digits as Los Angeles sent Seattle to its 10th straight loss.
The Western Conference-leading Lakers returned to Staples Center from an arduous 2-2 road trip that concluded with victories over Dallas and Utah -- who were a combined 58-8 at home before they got there.
They never trailed in their sixth straight win over the Sonics, whose 16-53 record is the second-worst in the NBA.
Rookie Kevin Durant had 20 points for the Sonics.
Grizzlies 120, Knicks 106
At New York, Mike Miller scored 24 of his 34 points in the first half, and Memphis snapped an 18-game road losing streak.
Rudy Gay added 24 points for the Grizzlies, who stormed to a 19-point halftime lead, blew it all before the end of the third quarter, then pulled away again for their first win outside Memphis since beating Indiana on Jan. 2. Miller was scoreless in the third quarter, then had 10 in the fourth to help the Grizzlies improve to 4-18 since trading Pau Gasol.
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points and Nate Robinson had 18 for the Knicks (19-49), who have lost three straight, 10 of 11, and matched their loss total from all of last season.
Nuggets 125, Nets 114
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Allen Iverson scored 26 points and led a fourth-quarter spurt that carried Denver to the win.
Backup forward Linas Kleiza added 23 points and Marcus Camby had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets. Former Net Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony had 17 points apiece.
Vince Carter scored 32 points and Richard Jefferson added 29 for the Nets, who fell a half-game behind idle Atlanta in the race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Denver won the hard way, blowing a 17-point third-quarter lead and then taking command with an 18-1 spurt that bridged the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth.
Pacers 124, Timberwolves 113
At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 32 points and Indiana earned its fifth straight victory at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Mike Dunleavy finished with 25 points and seven assists and Troy Murphy added 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Pacers.
Rashad McCants had 22 points, Randy Foye scored 16 and Kirk Snyder 15 for the Timberwolves.
Spurs 102, Kings 89
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead San Antonio to the victory.
Tony Parker added 19 points for the Spurs, who have won two straight after snapping a season-high four-game losing streak Thursday in Chicago.
Ron Artest scored 23 points for the Kings -- 17 in the first half -- and Kevin Martin added 20.
The Kings got as close as a tie in the third quarter, but didn't ever get a lead after Duncan put the Spurs up 14-13 in the opening period.
Anthony Johnson, who started in place of an injured Beno Udrih, scored 12 points for Sacramento.
In other games on Friday, it was:
* Wizards 103, Heat 86
* Magic 113, 76ers 95
* Trail Blazers 107, Clippers 102
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS