LeBron James matched a season high with 41 points, finally putting Milwaukee away with a steal and soaring dunk in the final minutes, while Mo Williams scored 16 against his former team as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their fifth straight, 99-93 over the Bucks on Tuesday night.
James scored 12 in the fourth quarter and didn’t come out in the second half while playing a season-best 43 minutes.
With Cleveland leading by five, James poked away a pass intended for Richard Jefferson, streaked to the other end and lifted off one step inside the foul line before smashing the ball through the hoop.
PHOTO: AP
Moments later, he dropped an outside jumper and then drove through the lane for a finger roll to give the Cavs an 11-point lead.
NUGGETS 88, BOBCATS 80
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half and Chauncey Billups added a key three-point play late as Denver held off Charlotte to stay unbeaten with Billups in the lineup.
After an 11-point fourth-quarter lead was sliced to 75-73, the undermanned Nuggets turned to Billups and their defense. Charlotte went six straight possessions without a point, while Billups found Nene for a thunderous dunk before Billups’ driving layup and free throw on the next possession made it 80-73 with 2:56 left.
Jason Richardson scored 23 points to lead the sloppy Bobcats.
JAZZ 93, 76ERS 80
At Philadelphia, Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 16 rebounds as Deron Williams played for the first time this season to lead Utah past Philadelphia.
Williams had seven points and nine assists after missing the first six games because of a sprained left ankle he suffered in a preseason game Oct. 18 against Chicago.
Andre Miller scored 25 points, Andre Iguodala had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Elton Brand added 13 for the reeling Sixers, who lost their third in a row and fell to 2-5.
SPURS 92, KNICKS 80
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead San Antonio over New York in the Spurs’ first game without injured guard Tony Parker.
Parker will miss about a month due to a moderate left ankle sprain. The Spurs’ other standout guard, Manu Ginobili, has not played this season and isn’t scheduled to be back from left ankle surgery until December.
Rookie George Hill started in place of Parker and scored a season-high 12 points.
LAKERS 106, MAVERICKS 99
At Dallas, Trevor Ariza turned an offensive rebound into an emphatic, go-ahead dunk early in the fourth quarter and Kobe Bryant quickly stretched the lead, sending the Los Angeles Lakers to a victory over Dallas.
Ariza’s basket put Los Angeles up for the first time since the opening minutes, then Bryant began stretching the lead with a one-handed rebound-dunk on the next possession.
Soon after, he scored seven straight points and the Lakers held off the Mavericks down the stretch to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2001-2002, their last championship season.
Dallas’ Jason Kidd got the 101st triple-double of his career with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
HAWKS 113, BULLS 108
At Chicago, Al Horford scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Atlanta remained unbeaten through six games with a victory over Chicago.
Atlanta’s start is its best since the 1997-1998 Hawks won their first 11 games.
Mike Bibby added 22 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to fend off a Bulls rally.
The Hawks had six players in double figures, including Johnson, who finished with 17 — eight below his average. He shot 4-for-16.
Rookie Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 26 points to match his career high and had a career-best 10 rebounds.
PISTONS 100, KINGS 92
At Sacramento, California, Allen Iverson had 30 points and nine assists to win for the first time with his new team, leading Detroit to a victory over Sacramento.
Tayshaun Prince added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who had lost their first two games since acquiring Iverson from Denver last week for All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups, key reserve Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb.
WARRIORS 113, TIMBERWOLVES 110
At Oakland, California, Stephen Jackson tied the game late in regulation and scored six of his 30 points in overtime, leading Golden State back from a poor fourth quarter to beat the hapless Minnesota.
Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the extra session and the Warriors sent the Timberwolves to their sixth straight loss.
Jackson’s transition layin with 22.2 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 106 and Rashad McCants missed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc at the buzzer to send the game into extra time.
Al Jefferson had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which seemed in control when it led by 10 with 7:06 left.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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