The Cavaliers haven’t lost their holiday spirit.
Showing the Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers was no gift, LeBron James scored 37 points, including 12 straight down the stretch, and the Cavs beat Kobe Bryant and the defending NBA champions, 93-87, last night in Cleveland.
J.J. Hickson grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and Anderson Varejao made three free throws in the final 20 seconds as Cleveland swept the season series between the league’s top two teams. That could give the Cavs homecourt advantage if they meet the Lakers in June’s NBA Finals.
A lot can happen between now and then, but the win gave Cleveland confidence it might be able to survive despite losing Mo Williams, their All-Star point guard who sat out his first game last night and will miss at least one month with a shoulder sprain. Williams scored a team-high 28 in Cleveland’s Dec. 25 win at Staples Center.
Bryant finished with 31 points but was only 4-of-15 in the second half as the Lakers lost the opener of an eight-game road trip. Pau Gasol scored 13 for Los Angeles.
Bryant surpassed 25,000 career points in the first half, but he was unable to match James in the fourth quarter as both teams turned to their superstars.
With the score tied at 80, James hit a 3-pointer from the left side, and after a miss by Bryant, the reigning MVP dropped another jumper to put Cleveland ahead by five. James then hit another shot to make it 87-80 with 2:48 left and the Cavs looked to be in control. But Ron Artest hit a big 3 for the Lakers and Bryant made two free throws and a quick jumper to tie it at 87.
James then blasted down the left side for a layup with 40.5 seconds to go, prompting chants of “M-V-P” from the raucous Quicken Loans crowd. After Gasol missed two free throws, the Cavs called a timeout and before play resumed, James was caught by cameras rapping to Eminem’s song “Forever” before the ball was inbounded.
James then split a pair of free throws, but Varejao grabbed the rebound on the miss and was fouled by Artest. Varejao, a 66 percent shooter from the line, made both attempts for a 92-87 Cavs lead with 20.7 seconds left. Bryant misfired on an off-balance 3-point attempt and James saved the long rebound, flying into Cleveland’s bench to make the save.
As Varejao went to the line again with 4.1 seconds left, James popped his maroon Cavs jersey, making sure everyone knew who came out on top.
Nuggets 105, Clippers 85 - Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points and host Denver routed Los Angeles.
Elsewhere in the NBA - Allen Iverson [stats] was voted to start in the Feb. 14 All-Star Game, while Steve Nash and Tim Duncan made late moves to claim starting spots for the Western Conference.
Nash passed the inactive Tracy McGrady as the second guard, while Duncan disappointed Dallas fans hoping to see Dirk Nowitzki start by rallying past the Mavericks forward.
Joining James and Iverson as East starters were Miami guard Dwyane Wade, Orlando center Dwight Howard and Celtics [team stats] forward Kevin Garnett. Bryant was picked in the West along with Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire and Denver forward Carmelo Anthony.
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