LeBron Wins Duel With Kobe to Lift Cavs

[January 28, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- LeBron James and Kobe Bryant went back and forth throughout an intense fourth quarter. James and his Cleveland Cavaliers won out in the end, even surviving a few raindrops at Staples Center.  [Caption: Los Angeles Lakers' Derek Fisher, left, Kobe Bryant, second from right, and Ronny Turiaf, surround Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James in the second half of a basketball game Sunday in Los Angeles. Cleveland won 98-95. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)]

James scored 14 of his 41 points in the final period, and the Cavaliers beat the short-handed Lakers 98-95 Sunday for their 12th win in 15 games.

Bryant scored nine of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and also had 12 rebounds and six assists, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the Lakers from losing their third straight to match their longest losing streak of the season.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 6:14 to play, and Larry Hughes also scored 16 points for the Cavaliers (24-19), who have beaten the Lakers in their last five meetings.

Lamar Odom had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (27-15), who have a 2-4 record since center Andrew Bynum injured his left knee. It was their fourth game without Trevor Ariza, who broke his right foot. Neither player is expected to return before the middle of March.

The game was delayed for 12 minutes late in the first quarter because of a small leak in the Staples Center roof. It resulted in a steady flow of drops falling under the north basket -- out of bounds but less than a foot from the baseline.

Arena spokesman Michael Roth said a roofing company inspected the roof Sunday morning and when the inspectors were finished, they removed their rain gear and left it along with some equipment on a catwalk over the north basket. The leak came from the clothing and equipment through slats in the catwalk.

The Cavaliers took a 94-93 lead on a basket by James with 1:16 remaining, and Bryant drew an offensive foul nine seconds later.

After an empty possession by each team, James ran the shot clock down before hitting from outside with 20 seconds to go, giving the Cavaliers a three-point lead.

Ronny Turiaf made a follow shot with 13 seconds left, trimming Cleveland's lead to one point, but James made two free throws four seconds later to make it 98-95.

The Lakers called a timeout, but were unable to get off a potential game-tying 3-pointer before the final buzzer sounded.

The Lakers used a 23-9 run to finish the third quarter and begin the fourth for an 84-75 lead. The Cavaliers responded with a 15-2 spurt of their own to take a four-point lead. Neither team led by more than four points after that.

Los Angeles outscored Cleveland 15-2 to start the third quarter and take a 55-51 lead. After falling behind 66-61, the Lakers rallied for a 71-69 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Neither team led by more than five points until the Cavaliers went on a 19-9 run to finish the second quarter for a 49-40 halftime lead. James outscored Bryant 21-13 in the half, but Bryant shot 6-for-6 and also had seven rebounds and five assists.

Notes: Cleveland's Anderson Varejao was helped from the court with 3:12 left in the third quarter with an injured left ankle. After James made a layup, Varejao stepped on the foot of Lakers G Sasha Vujacic as he entered the lane, trailing the play. ... Lakers F Vladimir Radmanovic returned to action after sitting out 11 games because of a sprained right ankle. He went scoreless while playing nearly five minutes in the second quarter. ... James passed Mark Price (9,543 points in 582 games) for third place on the Cavaliers' career scoring list. James has 9,577 points in 354 games. ... James scored 33 points to Bryant's 21 in the Cavaliers' 94-90 victory over the Lakers in Cleveland last month. ... After entertaining the New York Knicks on Tuesday, the Lakers begin a nine-game road trip in Detroit two nights later.

[Associated Press; By JOHN NADEL]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.