LOS ANGELES, 1 November 2003 — Teenage rookie sensation LeBron James flirted with his first triple double, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds along with eight assists, and the winless Cleveland Cavaliers flirted with victory again before coming up short for the second straight game.

“I’ll do anything to help my team win but it didn’t work out,” said James, the top pick out of high school in last summer’s NBA Draft, who hit eight-of-17 shots, but committed eight of the Cavs’ 20 turnovers. “We could have stolen one tonight but it didn’t turn out that way.”

Amare Stoudemire scored eight of his 25 points in the decisive fourth quarter and Stephon Marbury added 24, as the Phoenix Suns rallied past the Cavaliers 95-86 Thursday night in their home opener.

“I just came ready to play hard, trying to get this team a win,” said Stoudemire, whose club dropped an 83-82 opening night heart-breaker to San Antonio two nights ago. “I came out with a 115 percent effort.”

Shawn Marion chipped in with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix, which outscored Cleveland, 23-13 in the decisive fourth quarter.

“He’s a special player,” Suns coach Frank Johnson said of James, who had 25 points in a 106-92 loss to Sacramento in his NBA debut. “His guys love playing with him because he makes everyone around him better — 21 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists. Don’t worry about the seven turnovers. That happens to a young guy with a lot of different things thrown at you.”

Ricky Davis led Cleveland with 22 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 13 points, while Carlos Boozer finished with 11 and 15 rebounds.

The Suns trailed 75-74 with just under nine minutes left in the game before Stoudemire took over. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, converted a pair of three-point plays in a 10-3 run, to put the hosts ahead 84-78 with 6:40 to go. Marbury buried a 30-foot 3-pointer, to beat the shot clock with 3:46 left. After a fastbreak layin by Darius Miles at the other end, Marbury nailed a baseline jumper, before Stoudemire sank two free throws, to seal the win.

Elsewhere:

Houston Rockets 102 Denver Nuggets 85: Cuttino Mobley scored 21 points, to lead six players in double figures and the Rockets routed the Nuggets, to christen their new arena in their season opener.

Yao Ming had 19 points in just 20 minutes, Steve Francis chipped in with 17 for Houston, to make Jeff Van Gundy’s head coaching debut successful.

The Nuggets, who surprised NBA champions San Antonio in their season-opener on Wednesday night, were led by Andre Miller’s 19 points and 18 from prize rookie Carmelo Anthony, who added nine rebounds but had eight turnovers.

New Orleans Hornets 100 Orlando Magic 98: Jamaal Magloire had a career-high 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made a key game-ending block as the Hornets spoiled the Magic’s home opener.

The Hornets erased a late five-point deficit with a 7-0 closing run, capped by George Lynch’s driving layin with 36 seconds remaining. The Magic looked to force overtime as Tracy McGrady drove the right side. But the 6-foot-11 Magloire blocked the shot with five ticks left, to seal the victory.

David Wesley had 28 points and Baron Davis added 22 for New Orleans, which beat Atlanta in their season opener on Wednesday night.

McGrady, the NBA’s reigning scoring champion, finished with 33 points for Orlando, which beat New York in overtime in its season-lifter. Drew Gooden added 16 points and 11 rebounds and newcomer Juwan Howard had 15 and seven.

Seattle SuperSonics 109 L.A. Clippers 100: Rashard Lewis scored 25 points and Ronald Murray added 24 as the SuperSonics spoiled the coaching debut of Clippers’ head coach Mike Dunleavy in the season-opener for both teams.

Brent Barry collected 19 points and nine assists for Seattle, which won without top scorer Ray Allen. The three-time All-Star guard, will have arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle today.

Eddie House had 22 points off the bench and Corey Maggette contributed 21 for the Clippers, who lost their best player. All-Star forward Elton Brand finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks, but suffered a hairline fracture in his right foot, and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.

The Clippers trailed 83-69 entering the fourth quarter but closed to four in the final minute on a 3-pointer by House and a basket by Maggette. But Calvin Booth’s dunk with 20 seconds sealed the victory.

Clippers Lose Brand for 4-6 Weeks With Foot Injury

Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand will be out for four-to-six weeks after fracturing his right foot against the Seattle Supersonics in their NBA season opener, team doctors said yesterday.

Brand, who had 21 points and 15 rebounds and tied a career-high with eight blocks in a 109-100 loss on Thursday, was diagnosed with a hairline fracture of the fourth metatarsal after the game in Saitama.

NBA Commissioner David Stern, who was at the game, told Reuters that the Clippers had been aware of a potential problem following a pre-game practice.