|
 The star forward later inflicted far more punishment on the lowly
Sixers.
James scored 12 of his 37 points in a decisive 14-0 fourth-quarter
run as the Cavaliers beat Philadelphia 95-85, their seventh
consecutive victory.
James, whose point total matched a season high, also finished with
nine assists and seven rebounds for Cleveland, which improved its
Eastern Conference-leading record to 26-9. The Cavaliers also won
their fifth straight on the road and their sixth straight over
Philadelphia, and they completed their first four-game season sweep
of the Sixers since 1995-96.
"I've played in a lot of big games in my career, and I've seen it
all," James said, adding that he was trying to stay "even-keeled" on
a night when the Cavs shot just 38.9 percent from the floor.
"They look at me as the leader of this team, and I've got to be that
way all year 'round," he said of his teammates. "They needed me a
lot tonight, and I was able to come through."
James, who was struck by a pass from reserve forward Anderson
Varejao beforehand, shot 15-for-22 from the floor, including 3-for-5
from 3-point sniping.
Forward Kevin Love added 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists
for Cleveland, and guard J.R. Smith scored 14 points. Forward
Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 10 boards.
Center Jahlil Okafor had 21 points to lead Philadelphia, which
dropped its third straight and saw its NBA-worst record fall to
4-36. Guard Ish Smith had 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds,
and forward Nerlens Noel contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and
three blocked shots.
"They are championship material," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown
said of the Cavaliers. "I was proud, for the most part, of our
effort tonight."
The Sixers cut a 12-point deficit to 81-79 early in the fourth
quarter, but James returned to the game with 7:32 remaining after
resting early in the period.
He made a jumper, then a free throw, then a fastbreak layup off
Love's outlet pass. James' 3-pointer with 6:05 remaining increased
the Cleveland lead to 89-79, and after a stick-back by Thompson,
James capped the flurry with a dunk on the break, again off a feed
from Love.
That put Cleveland ahead 95-79 with 3:21 left.
"He's been doing that for a long time," Cleveland coach David Blatt
said of James. "It's nothing new, and we have confidence in him, and
obviously he has the confidence in himself to make the plays because
he's done it so many times."
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Cleveland led by as many as nine early in the second quarter, and as
many as eight later in that period, but Okafor crammed seven of his
12 first-half points in the last 1:12 of the quarter, all while
guarded by Timofey Mozgov, a 7-foot-1 reserve center.
That allowed the Sixers to cut the gap at halftime to 48-47.
James had 14 points and five assists in the half for the Cavs, who
shot just 32.7 percent from the floor. J.R. Smith added 11
first-half points.
Ish Smith backed Okafor with 11 points and six assists before the
break.
James scored nine points in a two-minute, 40-second span of the
third quarter, including a reverse, fastbreak dunk after a 70-foot
outlet pass from Love and a 3-pointer, giving Cleveland a 72-60
lead.
Philadelphia closed the gap to 75-69 by the end of the period, on a
3-pointer by forward Robert Covington in the final minute, then
continued to charge early in the fourth quarter. Ish Smith's
3-pointer with 8:22 left drew the 76ers within 81-79.
NOTES: Sixers coach Brett Brown said before the game that he will
continue to play C Jahlil Okafor and F Nerlens Noel in tandem, even
though Noel is more comfortable playing in the middle, as was the
case last season. "I can't quit on that now," Brown said. "(Noel is)
just 21. ... I feel like Nerlens Noel has made the most sacrifices
out of anybody. ... To think we're going to say, 'You're never going
to play a (power forward) spot at 21 years old isn't really fair to
anybody, especially you.'" ... Brown also said that it is difficult
for his young team not to be in awe of a player like Cleveland F
LeBron James. "How can it not be?" he said. ... Cavs G Kyrie Irving
played his ninth game since returning from offseason knee surgery,
having scored 70 points in the previous three. "Just like his
minutes have progressively gone up, I think also his comfort level
and his performance have improved," coach David Blatt said, "and
it's great to see. ... It's good news for us going forward."
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