LeBron James rebounded from a poor-shooting first half and finished with 26 points Tuesday to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-92 victory over the Orlando Magic.
James made six consecutive late shots before missing a meaningless attempt in the final seconds of Cleveland's third straight win.
Dwight Howard had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their seventh straight and 11th of 12. Orlando plays six of its next eight games on the road.
PHOTO: AP
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Sasha Pavlovic a career-high 21 points for Cleveland.
Two days after becoming the youngest All-Star game MVP in history, James made only four of his first 17 shots. Still, he still brought the sellout crowd of 20,562 to its feet with several dazzling behind-the-back passes and one 45-foot shot that went in but didn't count.
Pistons 97, Hawks 87
At Auburn, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Chauncey Billups had 19 points and 15 assists to lead Detroit over Atlanta.
Rasheed Wallace finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds and Ben Wallace had nine points, 17 rebounds and five blocks for the Pistons.
Al Harrington led Atlanta with 20 points and Josh Childress added 18. The Hawks were trying to join Utah as the only teams with multiple wins over the Pistons this season, but couldn't pick up their sixth win in nine games.
Spurs 103, SuperSonics 78
At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 30 points and Bruce Bowen hit five 3-pointers to lead San Antonio over Seattle in its first home game this month.
The Spurs had been on an eight-game road ``Rodeo'' road trip before the All-Star break. San Antonio has taken this trip for the past four seasons while a rodeo was held at the AT&T Center. The Spurs finished the trip 6-2, but lost their last two games.
Ray Allen scored 20 points to lead San Antonio, which has lost seven of its last eight games.
Nets 89, Bucks 85
At Milwaukee, Vince Carter scored 45 points, including New Jersey's final 14 to lead a late comeback, and Jason Kidd had a triple-double in New Jersey's win over Milwaukee.
Carter almost single-handedly erased a four-point deficit in the final 5 minutes, helping the Nets end a 10-game losing streak in Milwaukee. Kidd finished with 12 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for his 71st career triple-double and fourth this season.
Michael Redd and Bobby Simmons each had 18 points to lead the Bucks.
Mavericks 93, Clippers 91
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had three straight baskets and a steal in a little more than a minute, then made a game-saving block with 6.9 seconds to go as Dallas held off the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks (42-11), already with the best record in the Western Conference, matched a franchise record by winning their 12th straight home game. They have won 16 of 17 overall.
Dallas didn't make another field goal after Nowitzki's last basket with 6 minutes left, missing its final nine shots. The Mavericks led by only a point when Nowitzki blocked Sam Cassell's shot.
Los Angeles lost its fourth straight game.
Celtics 103, Jazz 83
At Salt Lake City, Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Delonte West added 22 to lead Boston past Utah.
Pierce had his sixth straight game with at least 30 points, and his 17 points in the third quarter matched Utah's total as Boston outscored the Jazz 37-17.
The Celtics lost guard Wally Szczerbiak early in the game after he collided with Utah's Milt Palacio in the lane. Szczerbiak was carried from the court by his teammates and departed with a bruised left knee.
Carlos Boozer pulled down 10 rebounds in his first home game in more than a year.
Lakers 99, Trail Blazers 82
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 27 points in the final six minutes, Lamar Odom had 20 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and six assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat Portland.
Smush Parker added 13 points, seven rebounds and a season-high nine assists, and Devean George also scored 13 for the Lakers (27-26), who won for just the third time in nine games.
Juan Dixon scored 16 points to lead Portland (18-34), which lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Zach Randolph, the Blazers' leading scorer and rebounder, had seven points and 10 rebounds before leaving the game for good with 3:02 left in the third quarter after being elbowed in the mouth.
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