LeBron James scored 25 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers roared to their eighth consecutive victory, crushing the Charlotte Bobcats 94-74 on Saturday.
Cleveland scored the game's first seven points and were never seriously threatened in improving its record to 17-3. The Central Division-leading Cavaliers have not lost since Nov 19, when they were beaten 96-89 by the Detroit Pistons.
"They (the Cavaliers) are terrific," Bobcats coach Larry Brown told reporters. "They're playing so unselfishly, they defend well, they have a lot of people that can play."
James, as usual, led the way.
"We like to make a statement defensively and we did it once again tonight," James said.
"It leads to us getting out and getting easy buckets."
Point guard Daniel Gibson added 22 points.
"Daniel had an excellent game on the offensive end and guys just followed that," James said. "It's another big win for us."
Reserve guard D.J. Augustin led Charlotte (7-13) with 17 points. Fellow guard Raymond Felton was the only Bobcat starter in double figures with 15.
"You hope we try hard, play smart and play together," Brown said. "But tonight I don't think we competed."
Heat 105, Thunder 99
At Miami, NBA scoring leader Dwyane Wade scored 25 of his 38 points in the first half to help Miami win its third straight game.
Udonis Haslem added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Miami.
Russell Westbrook scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, which has lost 19 of 21 matches this season.
Nets 95, 76ers 84
At Philadelphia, Devin Harris scored 27 points, and Vince Carter added 14 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for New Jersey.
The Nets have won five of six games and four straight on the road.
Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 20 points, and Andre Miller had 16.
Hornets 106, Grizzlies 87
At New Orleans, Chris Paul had 21 points and 11 assists as New Orleans made 11 3-pointers en route to its sixth victory in seven games.
Peja Stojakovic hit five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 21 points. O.J. Mayo scored 18 points, giving him double figures in points in his first 20 NBA games _ the longest streak since Larry Bird hit double-digits in his first 20 games with Boston in 1979.
Clippers 107, T-wolves 84
At Minneapolis, Baron Davis had 27 points and nine assists, and Zach Randolph scored 21 points to help Los Angeles improve to 4-16.
Al Jefferson had 28 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota.
Mavericks 100, Hawks 98
At Dallas, Jose Barea scored 16 of his season-high 22 points in the third quarter, and Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points to help Dallas improve to 9-1 in its last 10 games.
Joe Johnson had 32 points for Atlanta.
Spurs 123, Warriors 88
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan, sporting a new look with his head shaved clean, had 20 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes for San Antonio.
Michael Finley and Tony Parker added 17 points each for the Spurs.
Golden State has lost nine straight, the longest current streak in the NBA.
Bulls 117, Wizards 110
At Chicago, Luol Deng scored a season-high 26 points, and former Washington player Larry Hughes added 24 points for Chicago.
Caron Butler had 27 points, six assists and eight rebounds for Washington. The Wizards dropped to 3-15 for the first time since 1966, when they were known as the Baltimore Bullets.
Nuggets 118, Kings 85
At Sacramento, Chauncey Billups scored 24 points to help Denver hand Sacramento its eighth straight loss.
The Nuggets are 13-4 since Billups joined the team in the trade that sent Allen Iverson to Detroit. John Salmons scored 22 points for Golden State.
Suns 106, Jazz 104
At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 20 rebounds and Leandro Barbosa scored 25 points as Phoenix ended a four-game losing streak.
Shaquille O'Neal, who was in foul trouble throughout the second half, had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix. Paul Millsap and C.J. Miles led Utah with 20 points each.
(Agencies via China Daily December 8, 2008)
