LeBron James poured in 47 points, including 24 straight in the opening half, as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their 11th consecutive game, a 113-106 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday.
James also had eight assists, eight rebounds and grabbed five steals, but it was his first-half performance that impressed the most as he scored a franchise record 35 points.
“It’s something that can’t be explained,” James said of his hot performance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“It’s a feeling I wish I could be in every game, but it’s not possible. It was a great moment,” he said.
He needed just five minutes and 29 seconds pump in 24 straight, comprising 16 in a row to end the first quarter and then eight consecutive to begin the second.
He closed the first quarter with a pair of three pointers from 9.7m in the final 37 seconds.
Cleveland led by as much as 24 in the first half, but the Knicks cut the lead to 109-106 on a basket by Jordan Hill with 2 minutes, 19 seconds to play.
James answered back with a jump shot from just inside the three-point line, then grabbed the rebound following a miss by Al Harrington and hit another jumper to make it 113-106 with less than a minute remaining in the game.
Nate Robinson finished with 26 points for New York while David Lee added 20 points and Harrington had 16 off the bench.
“You sometimes become a fan because he’s taking three-point shots way beyond the arc,” New York’s Chris Duhon said. “Sometimes you get star-struck and you just start to get in a daze.”
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said: “My God. He didn’t even come close to missing.”
Cavaliers giant center Shaquille O’Neal scored 19 points, Anthony Parker had 11 and J.J. Hickson added 10 for Cleveland, which is two games short of tying the franchise record for consecutive wins it set last year.
Huge performances against the Knicks are nothing out of the ordinary for James. He scored 52 points in January last year, in New York. He also scored 50 against them on March 5, 2008.
■LAKERS VS BLAZERS
AP, PORTLAND, OREGON
Lamar Odom replaced an injured Kobe Bryant and matched his career high with 22 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-82 in the NBA on Saturday.
Bryant sat out with a sore left ankle, ending the 12-time All-Star’s run of 235 straight games.
Odom also scored 10 points as the Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 19 points, en route to ending a nine-game losing streak at the Rose Garden.
JAZZ 116, NUGGETS 106
In Salt Lake City, Utah made it eight straight wins to down Denver.
Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 points and Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the lineup.
The Jazz pulled within two games of the Nuggets in the Northwest Division and avoided a four-game sweep by Denver.
HORNETS 104, BOBCATS 99
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Darren Collison scored a career-high 24 points filling in for Chris Paul as New Orleans downed Charlotte.
In the first regular-season meeting since the July trade that sent Emeka Okafor to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler, the Hornets rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to snap a three-game losing streak since Paul was sidelined with a knee injury. Okafor, the Bobcats’ first draft pick, had 16 points and seven rebounds.
SPURS 98, CLIPPERS 81
In Los Angeles, San Antonio breezed to victory against a Los Angeles team adjusting to life under an interim coach.
BULLS 95, HEAT 91
In Chicago, the hosts won their first game in four by edging Miami.
Luol Deng scored 25 points and Derrick Rose added 24 for the Bulls, who won despite missing the injured Joakim Noah and suspended Tyrus Thomas.
76ERS 102, ROCKETS 95
In Houston, Philadelphia came from 13 points down to beat Houston and extend its winning run to a season-best four games.
Reserve Thaddeus Young scored 17 points and Willie Green added 15 for the 76ers.
In other NBA play, it was:
• Thunder 104, Warriors 95
• Bucks 93, Pacers 81
• T’wolves 109, Grizzlies 102
• Pistons 99, Nets 92
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