NEW YORK, 28 January 2004 — Rookie LeBron James scored 16 points in his first game back after a sprained ankle to help the Cleveland Cavaliers edge the Orlando Magic 99-98 in a thriller on Monday.
Carlos Boozer added 23 points and hauled down 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four of five games and now have 16 victories, one fewer than last season’s entire total.
Orlando’s Tracy McGrady equaled an NBA record with eight three-pointers in the first half.
McGrady played only five minutes in the second half because of a toe injury. He limped off the court with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter.
The Magic had a chance to tie the game but Rod Strickland fired an airball as time expired, missing a shot that would have given Orlando victory.
James, who had missed three games, also had five rebounds and three assists while playing 30 minutes. He did not feature in the final five minutes. Dajuan Wagner added a season-high 21 points for the Cavaliers while Zydrunas Ilgauskas chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Juwan Howard had 21 points for the Magic and Shammond Williams picked up 14.
In Miami, Eddie Jones contributed 27 points to lead the Heat to a 95-81 win over the Houston Rockets in the coaching battle of the Van Gundy brothers.
Heat coach Stan Van Gundy tied the score on his brother Jeff after Houston had beaten Miami on Nov. 11.
This time Miami shot 51 percent from the field, one of the best performances of the season from the NBA’s worst shooting team.
Lamar Odom scored 20 points for the Heat while Rafer Alston added 15 points and Caron Butler 14.
Houston’s Yao Ming, coming off a career-best 37 points against Orlando on Sunday, had 12 points in 28 minutes. Steve Francis continued his recent sluggish play, totaling nine points and going 2-for-9. Miami has won three in a row while the Rockets had their three-game winning streak snapped.
In Washington, Damon Stoudamire recorded 18 points on six three-pointers to guide the Portland Trail Blazers to a 94-83 triumph over the Wizards. Rasheed Wallace and Zach Randolph added 16 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, who won despite getting three technical fouls.
Darius Miles claimed 10 points for Portland, all in the opening half in his first start since being acquired from Cleveland.
Juan Dixon scored 30 points for the Wizards, a career-high.
In Milwaukee, Tim Thomas scored 22 points as the Bucks edged the San Antonio Spurs 93-92.
Brian Skinner added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 26 points.
In Denver, Kevin Garnett piled up 31 points and 13 rebounds to power the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Nuggets 97-95.
Sam Cassell added 22 points and 11 assists for the T-Wolves. Andre Miller had a triple double for Denver, 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
In Salt Lake City, Greg Ostertag picked up 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 98-93.
Elton Brand bagged 18 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers.
Frank Takes Charge of Nets After Scott Fired
Two-time NBA finalists the New Jersey Nets fired coach Byron Scott on Monday and installed his assistant, Lawrence Frank, as his successor on an interim basis.
Scott guided the Nets to Eastern conference titles in 2002 and 2003 but, despite their winning 22-20 record, have endured an inconsistent and fraught season.
Nets president/general manager, Rod Thorn, said the team had become “stagnant” under Scott.
“It was the right time for a change,” Thorn told a news conference. “Sometimes, the message a coach wants to get through to his team is not received.
“We needed a new voice in the locker room...hopefully this will give us the impetus for the rest of the season.”
Thorn said that the Nets had lost some of the emotion and focus associated with their play, but denied that Scott had “lost the support” of his players or that Nets point guard Jason Kidd had forced the issue of his firing.
However, Thorn did say: “If a star player believes in the coach, it makes whatever the coach is preaching easier to sell to the other players”.
Scott, who was in the final year of his four-year contract, was considered unfortunate not to be offered an extension at the end of last season, after the Nets had lost to the San Antonio Spurs in six games of the NBA finals. A run of five consecutive defeats was halted with a 110-91 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday, but there was still little to cheer Scott.
