LeBron James just missed the triple double and Shaquille O’Neal reached another milestone as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Toronto 108-100 on Tuesday.
James finished with 28 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for Cleveland who are beginning a long spell of home games at Quicken Loans Arena.
Mo Williams added 22 points and 10 assists as the Cavaliers boosted their record to 15-3 at home this season.
Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal finished with 16 points and became the fifth player in National Basketball Association history to surpass 28,000 points in his career.
“There’s no layups when Shaq is covering the glass,” James said. “That’s what he’s about. He doesn’t care about putting guys on the floor. They gave us a little trouble in the first half but we were able to slow that down [in the second half]. We were a bit more physical on the defensive end.”
O’Neal reached the milestone with his opening basket in the first minute of the game. He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Michael Jordan (32,292) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) as the only players to reach the milestone.
O’Neal assisted on two crucial baskets down the stretch and set the tone for Cleveland’s defense in the second half with hard fouls on Raptor Demar DeRozan and Jarrett Jack.
“I’m happy being No. 5. There are some great names in front of me and some great names behind me,” O’Neal said. “I’ve always been a player that only gets happy about the big picture. It’s a great milestone but it’s something I don’t get too giddy about.”
Chris Bosh scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Toronto, but was held to just five points in the second half.
The Raptors were held scoreless in the final 3:15 of the third quarter to fall behind 91-83 heading into the final quarter.
James hit two crucial free throws with 1:21 left in the fourth and Bosh committed a turnover with 24 seconds left that iced the game for Cleveland.
HEAT 113, PACERS 83
At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 18 of his 32 points in the first quarter as Miami ran out to a commanding early lead and then cruised against Indiana.
Michael Beasley scored 21 for Miami, who led 36-19 after one quarter and by 23 at one point in the opening half. Wade shot 12 of 20 and passed the career 11,000-point mark with a second-quarter layup.
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