LeBron James scored 24 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their third straight game after an 0-3 start, beating the Washington Wizards 105-74 Saturday.
"We're just getting started," James said. "We're getting better every game."
Drew Gooden added 15 rebounds and 14 points while Jeff McInnis had 13 points and 11 assists for the Cavaliers.
James scored nine of the Cavaliers' first 11 in the fourth, taking over just as he did Wednesday when he outscored Phoenix 17-14 in the final 12 minutes and the Cavs overcame a 19-point deficit to win.
"He's the best," Cavs coach Paul Silas said. "He's unbelievable. He wants the ball and he wants the responsibility. Everything we need, he provides. He's so special."
The reigning rookie of the year came into the game as the NBA's secon d leading scorer and Cleveland's undisputed leader. Entering the game, James had accounted for 40 percent of the Cavaliers' points in the fourth quarter.
Gilbert Arenas scored 25 points to lead the Wizards. Antawn Jamison had 14 and nine rebounds for Washington, which was held to 28 points under its average.
Mavericks 94, Nets 78
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jerry Stackhouse hit all five of his third-quarter shots and scored a season-high 28 points, leading Dallas over New Jersey.
Dirk Nowitzki added 31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four of Dallas' 12 steals in helping the revamped Mavericks win for the sixth time in seven games.
Richard Jefferson had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Nets, who lost for the third time in four home games. Point guard Zoran Planinic had a career-high 16 points and Eric Williams added 15.
Acquired from Washington in the offseason to give Dallas a threat off the bench, Stackhouse had struggled with his shot. He came into the game shooting 36.4 percent, including a 4-of-14 effort in a loss at Orlando this week.
Warriors 103, Bobcats 87
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Jason Richardson scored 27 points and Troy Murphy added 22 to lead Golden State over expansion Charlotte.
It was the first win for coach Mike Montgomery, who opened his NBA career with six consecutive losses and put Golden State in danger of besting the franchise futility mark set at the start of the 1997-1998 season by opening 0-9.
The Warriors built a 22-point, first-half lead. Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 22 points.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
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Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
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