Despite blowing a 23-point lead, the Cavs battled back and beat the Miami Heat 102-90 on Tuesday night, getting a dose of revenge against James, who was making his second homecoming visit to Cleveland since leaving the city as a free agent last summer.

J.J. Hickson scored 21 points and Anthony Parker had 20 for the Cavs, who were embarrassed by James and the Heat 118-90 on Dec. 2 — a night when Cleveland fans unleashed their hatred on the superstar.

This time, James left the floor hanging his head. He finished with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

Rockets 112 Nets 87: In Newark, New Jersey, Kyle Lowry had 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and the Houston Rockets moved within two games of the final playoff berth in the Western Conference with a victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Kevin Martin added 20 points as the Rockets (39-35) posted their sixth win in seven games and inched closer to idle eighth-place Memphis (41-33) with eight games left in the regular season.

Brook Lopez had 22 points for the Nets, who lost their third in a row and seventh in eight games. Deron Williams missed his sixth straight game for New Jersey (23-50), which has lost 50 games for the second straight season.

Thunder 115 Warriors 114, OT: In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 39 points, Russell Westbrook hit the winning free throw with 11.4 seconds left in overtime and the Oklahoma City Thunder finished their longest homestand of the season with a victory against the Golden State Warriors.

Durant scored eight of Oklahoma City’s nine points in overtime, but served as a decoy to create room along the right side of the lane as Westbrook drove to the basket and got fouled. Westbrook missed his first free throw, but made the second to put the Thunder on top.

Monta Ellis’ jumper from the top of the key was wide right at the final buzzer.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 35 points.

Kings 116 Suns 113: In Sacramento, California, Marcus Thornton scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds for the Sacramento Kings, who won their season-high fourth straight by defeating the Phoenix Suns.

Despite the strong possibility of the team moving to Anaheim next season, the Kings are enjoying their best stretch of the season, winning five of six games.

The loss was the third straight and eighth in 11 games for the Suns, who are 10th in the conference and trail the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies by 4 1/2 games with nine games remaining in the regular season.

Both Jared Dudley and Channing Frye scored 21 points for the Suns, who lost to the Kings for the third straight time.
 
Anaheim OKs $75 million bond deal to lure Kings

Meantime, the Anaheim city council unanimously approved a $75 million bond deal Tuesday night to entice the Sacramento Kings to relocate to Orange County.

The city council twice voted 5-0 for the lease-revenue bond measures, resulting in a round of applause from the audience at its packed City Hall meeting room.

“Anaheim took a giant step closer to bringing an NBA team to Anaheim and the Honda Center,” Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said. “I am thrilled. A better word is stoked.”

Tait repeatedly emphasized the city is borrowing no money and has no financial risk in the deal. According to every Anaheim official at the meeting, the city is merely acting as a conduit for a private investment by Henry Samueli, the billionaire owner of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

“I’d like to recognize this is a historic moment for us,” Council member Harry Sidhu said. “This is going to be a great economic engine for us. A lot of jobs are going to be created, and I’m fully confident in that.”

Samueli, who also manages the city-owned arena, is financing the deal, which includes $25 million in upgrades to Honda Center, including a practice court and new locker rooms. Another $50 million will be working capital for moving costs that could include relocation fees paid to the NBA’s other owners.

The Kings must file for relocation by April 18 for the deal to move forward. The bond issue was publicly opposed by just one person in the meeting crowd, which also included a fan wearing the No. 4 Sacramento jersey of retired star Chris Webber.

Although most city officials were careful to emphasize the bonds could be used to move any team, not just the Kings, Council member Kris Murray acknowledged the obviously messy emotions behind the deal.

“My heart does go out to the Sacramento fans and residents,” Murray said. “They’re a great team, and I know we would be proud to have them in our city. … I hope we come up with some creative way to replace the cowbell.”