CLEVELAND: LeBron James scored 36 points — 17 on free throws — as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran their NBA winning streak to 10 with a 102-84 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday.
Daniel Gibson added 12 after joining the game in the second quarter. He arrived late after joining his pregnant fiancee who was hospitalized for precautionary reasons.
James started at point guard for Gibson and added eight assists and seven rebounds. A one-on-one showdown between superstars James and Miami’s Dwayne Wade never materialized as the Cavs controlled the game and attempted 36 free throws to 14 for Miami.
Wade finished with 24 points on 11 of 26 shooting and Michael Beasley had 21 for the Heat, which has dropped four straight.
Miami was within eight after three quarters, but the Cavs outscored them 10-3 to open the fourth, taking a 91-76 lead.
Wade tried to keep Miami close but didn’t have as much help as James, who has adapted his game lately to fill the backcourt void.
While James was able to draw fouls — he shot 21 free throws to 2 for Wade — his Miami counterpart wasn’t able to get as many calls despite being knocked down on a few occasions.
Twice, Wade ran into Shaquille O’Neal, his former Heat teammate, and found himself looking at the ceiling without hearing a whistle.
O’Neal added 13 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes, yet another strong, efficient performance from the big man who has stepped his game up of late.
Trail Blazers 96, Spurs 93: In Portland, Oregon, Portland came from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat San Antonio.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Blazers. He hit a jumper with 2:54 left to give the Blazers the lead and Martell Webster dropped another 3 to make it 91-87 with 22.9 seconds to go.
With the victory, Portland swept the three-game series over San Antonio this season. The Blazers have won their past five against the Spurs.
Webster finished with 21 points and made all five of his 3-pointers.
Manu Ginobili’s 21 points led the Spurs, who lost despite the return of guard Tony Parker, who missed the previous three games with an ankle sprain.
Parker, who started, pounced on the Blazers early with 16 first-half points and 18 for the game.
Portland remained without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, who continues to nurse a left hamstring injury. Roy, who is averaging 23.1 points, has missed 11 of the Blazers’ last 12 games.
Portland coach Nate McMillan said before the game that he is hopeful Roy will return for Saturday’s game at home against the Los Angeles Lakers.
