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 James added 12 assists, nine rebounds and five steals to pace the Cavaliers, who improved to 15-4 since Dec. 25 and handed the NBA's best road team just its fifth loss away from home. Cleveland also beat the Celtics in overtime on Nov. 27.
For a change, James, who leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring, didn't have to do it all by himself down the stretch.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 points, Larry Hughes had 18 and seldom-used Ira Newble had 15 for Cleveland. Also, guard Daniel Gibson made a big steal in the final minute to help the Cavs hang on.
Ray Allen scored 24 points and Paul Pierce 19 for the Celtics, who were again without Kevin Garnett. The All-Star center missed his fourth straight game with an abdominal strain sustained on Jan. 25, and is likely to sit out Friday's game in Minnesota, his first visit back there since the Timberwolves traded him to Boston last summer.
For three quarters, a matchup between two of the East's top teams looked more like one between two up-and-down Western Conference teams as defense was scarce. But with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, both teams tightened things up.
The Celtics pulled to 97-96 before James drained a 3-pointer and drove the lane before feeding Ilgauskas for a dunk. Gibson then scored on a circus-like scoop shot in the lane and James hit a jumper to put the Cavs up 106-98 with 4:43 left.
Boston, though, quickly cut it to two as Kendrick Perkins scored on a three-point play and Pierce drained a 3.
Rajon Rondo made a jumper and two free throws as the Celtics pulled within 110-108 with 1:48 remaining. But on Cleveland's next possession, Boston's defense was so concerned about stopping James that the Celtics let Newble, who needed four stitches to close a gash over his right eye in the first half, drive the baseline for a dunk.
Pierce's basket got Boston within two, and the Celtics had a chance to tie it but Gibson stripped Rondo and Ilgauskas made two free throws with 16.6 seconds left to put Cleveland ahead 114-110.
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James Posey dropped a 3-pointer for Boston at the horn to close the scoring.
Already playing without Sasha Pavlovic (sprained foot) and Anderson Varejao (sprained ankle), the Cavaliers lost forward Drew Gooden early in the third with a strained right groin.
Gooden hurt himself while crashing the boards, grabbing a rebound and dunking over an unsuspecting Allen. Gooden immediately grabbed his leg in pain, told James to call a timeout and limped to the locker room.
Neither team seemed interested in playing any defense in the first half as the teams combined for 130 points and 14 3-pointers. Boston shot 62 percent from the field.
Rondo scored 16 points in the first half, most of them coming on unchallenged drives to the basket as the Cavaliers allowed the speedy guard to get into the lane without anyone slowing him down.
As is his custom before big games, James arrived at the arena for some early shooting practice. The extra work paid off as he went 5-of-6, made three straight 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first.
Notes: Since coming into the NBA, James has engaged in some heated trash talk with the Celtics, whom he says are among the league's chattiest squads. "They're up there," he said. "Them and the Pistons. They talk but they back it up. Sometimes it can get annoying, but they can back it up." So who's the quietest team? "Utah," he said. "They don't say nothing, they just kick your butt." ... Celtics coach Doc Rivers has a strong connection with the Cavaliers. His uncle, Jim Brewer, played for Cleveland from 1973-79. As a kid, Rivers also attended a basketball camp in Cleveland hosted by former Cavs guard Austin Carr, the club's second-leading career scorer. "I loved his shooting," Rivers said of Carr, currently a Cavs TV analyst. "It was a beautiful thing to watch."
[Associated Press; By TOM WITHERS]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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