LeBron James, Cavs shoot straight

LeBron James scored 47 points, including 24 straight in the first half, and the Cavaliers held off the New York Knicks, 113-106, last night in Cleveland for their 11th straight win.

James set a franchise record with 35 points in the first half. He finished one point shy of his season high while adding eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Cleveland star needed just 5:29 to score 24 straight - 16 in a row to end the first quarter and eight straight to start the second. He closed the first quarter with four 3-pointers in the final two minutes.

Lakers 99, Trail Blazers 82 - Lamar Odom replaced an injured Kobe Bryant and matched his career high with 22 rebounds, and Los Angeles broke its nine-game losing streak at the Rose Garden with a victory over Portland.

Bryant sat out with a sore left ankle. The 12-time All-Star and last year’s NBA Finals MVP had played in 235 straight games.

Jazz 116, Nuggets 106 - In Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko had 22 points and five steals and Carlos Boozer finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the lineup as Utah won its eighth straight, beating shorthanded Denver.

The Jazz pulled within two games of the Nuggets in the Northwest Division and avoided a four-game sweep by Denver, which sat Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups for the second straight visit to Utah.

Hornets 104, Bobcats 99 - Darren Collison scored a career-high 24 points and visiting New Orleans rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to knock off Charlotte and snap a three-game losing streak since Chris Paul was sidelined with a knee injury.

Pistons 99, Nets 92 - In Auburn Hills, Mich., Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points on 9-for-9 shooting, and Detroit downed New Jersey, which has lost 14th straight on the road and are 1-26 in away games this season.

Bulls 95, Heat 91 - Luol Deng scored 25 points, Derrick Rose added 24 and host Chicago, playing without the team-suspended Tyrus Thomas, overcame Jermaine O’Neal’s 24 points and 16 rebounds for Miami.

Bucks 93, Pacers 81 - A night after leaving a game with a migraine headache, Andrew Bogut scored 21 points, helping Milwaukee ward off visiting Indiana, which got a 20-point performance from T.J. Ford.

Timberwolves 109, Grizzlies 102 - In Minneapolis, Al Jefferson [stats] rallied Minnesota to its season-high fourth straight victory by scoring 16 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter on 8-for-8 shooting against Memphis.

76ers 102, Rockets 95 - Thaddeus Young’s 17 points led five scorers in double figures as Philadelphia outlasted host Houston, which wasted Aaron Brooks’ 34-point effort.

Hawks-Wizards, ppd. - The game in Washington was postponed due to transportation issues as the result of the Mid-Atlantic blizzard. No makeup date was set.