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 On top, it said: Friday
-- Off.
LeBron James needs the downtime badly.
Bothered by painful back spasms, James scored 33 points -- but only one in the fourth quarter
-- as the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 17-point deficit for a 101-98 win over Cleveland. Larry Hughes scored 19 points in the second half against his former team and Ben Gordon added 24 for the Bulls, whose playoff chances are down to a mathematical longshot.
Following the game, James sat hunched over an ice-filled tub as he soaked his ankles and feet. Although he had a large ice pack strapped to his back, James groaned in discomfort.
The spasms weren't relenting.
The Bulls didn't either.
Gordon made five clutch free throws down the stretch and Hughes, traded by Cleveland to Chicago at the Feb. 21 deadline, finished with 25 as the Bulls snapped a six-game road losing streak. Hughes added nine assists and eight rebounds in 45 minutes
Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni had 15 points apiece for Chicago.
In the other NBA games, it was: Sacramento 110, the Los Angeles Clippers 98; and Houston 95, Portland 86.
Unable to get loose, James missed all five field-goal tries in the fourth quarter. With their go-to-superstar unable to cut, jump and move as usual, the Cavaliers scored only 13 points in the final 12 minutes.
"Being the explosive type of player that I am, it was tough to do some of the things that I wanted to do," James said. "Hopefully I can get it better."
Still, the Cavaliers had a chance to take the lead in the closing seconds. But James, the NBA's leading scorer, drove the left side and was short on a double-pumping layup with 5.9 seconds to go. James and coach Mike Brown both felt he was fouled by rookie Joakim Noah, who stepped in front to contest the shot.
"I went up and got hit on the elbow," James said. "But that's not why we lost the game."
Following James' miss, Gordon was fouled and made two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to put the Bulls ahead by three.
Cleveland had one last chance, but after catching a terrific pass from James, who caught the ball in the air and re-directed it in one motion, Daniel Gibson missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer before the horn.
The Bulls' season has been disappointing, but they never quit against a Cleveland team still trying to secure home-court advantage in the first round. Chicago's defense limited the Cavs to one field goal over the final 7:07.
"We're out of the playoff race, but to be able to fight back the way we did says a lot about our guys," interim coach Jim Boylan said. "We've been trying to talk to the guys about playing the season all the way out.
'We're pros, let's act like pros.' I thought we showed that."
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 23 points for the Cavaliers, who are trying to nail down the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Trailing since early in the second quarter, the Bulls finally caught the Cavs and took the lead at 99-98 with 1:42 left when Gordon knocked down three straight free throws after being fouled by Delonte West while attempting a 3-pointer.
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Gordon's free throws came shortly after Cavs center Ben Wallace blew a wide-open dunk. As the ball clanged off the rim, a loud gong inadvertently sounded in the arena, usually a sound effect reserved for one of Big Ben's blocks.
James, who fouled out of Thursday's win at Charlotte, left the floor in the fourth quarter to get treatment on his back. He winced in pain when he walked to the bench for a timeout with 5:22 left, and instead of sitting in a chair, knelt as Brown discussed strategy with his team.
Leading by 10 at the half, Cleveland was poised to put the Bulls away in the third, building a 78-61 lead on a jumper by James.
But Hughes wasn't going to let his former team embarrass his new one. He scored 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and added four assists in the third quarter as Chicago, fueled by an 11-2 run, closed to 85-77 entering the fourth quarter.
Hughes was booed after every basket by Cavaliers fans, who were tough on him during an inconsistent and injury-riddled stint with Cleveland.
"I don't have a lot of complaints about the boos," said Hughes, who didn't take any extra satisfaction in knocking off his ex-teammates. "That's the stuff you normally hear. We felt we had a good chance to win this game. It feels good because we won."
Kings 110, Clippers 98
Kevin Martin hit four 3-pointers while scoring 26 points, and the host Kings avoided a four-game season sweep by the last-place Clippers.
Francisco Garcia scored 17 points and Mikki Moore added 16 for the Kings, who took a 20-point lead in the third quarter of their fourth victory in five games.
Corey Maggette scored 28 points and Elton Brand had 15 points and nine rebounds in his second game back from a 74-game absence for Los Angeles.
Rockets 95, Trail Blazers 86
Tracy McGrady scored 26 of his 35 points in the second half for visiting Houston, which snapped a two-game skid.
Rookie Aaron Brooks' 3-pointer with 3:06 left made it 91-78 for the Rockets and all but sealed the victory. Brooks had 12 points. Bobby Jackson, Dikembe Mutombo and Luther Head each had 11.
[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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