Injured James leads Cavaliers
Seattle Supersonics' Ray Allen drives against the Miami Heat in the second quarter Monday, Jan. 3, 2005 in Miami.
AP Photo/Alan Diaz
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Unhampered by a plastic mask he wore to protect his broken left cheek, LeBron James scored 26 points Monday night to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 94-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
James was given the mask Monday morning in Cleveland, then flew to Charlotte to rejoin his team. He said before the game he preferred not to wear the mask, which he needed after Houston center Dikembe Mutombo elbowed him in the face last week.
If it bothered him, it didn't show. James shot 11-of-19 and added eight rebounds and six assists. Drew Gooden added 19 points, and Charlotte native Jeff McInnis scored 13 points despite being bothered all day by flu symptoms.
Raptors 105, Magic 94
TORONTO - Chris Bosh tied his career-high with 25 points and Morris Peterson scored a season-high 21 to lead the Toronto Raptors over the slumping Orlando Magic.
Bosh also had 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who ended a three-game losing kid. The second-year forward matched his career-high for points set Nov. 16, 2003 against Houston.
Steve Francis had 19 points for the Magic, who have lost four straight overall and six in a row on the road.
Celtics 108, Hornets 90
BOSTON - Paul Pierce had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double, and Raef LaFrentz had 14 points and 12 rebounds as Boston sent the Hornets to their eighth consecutive loss.
Marcus Banks, making a rare start at point guard in place of injured Gary Payton, had five points and an assist and Ricky Davis scored 23 for Boston, which had lost four of its previous five games.
SuperSonics 98, Heat 96
MIAMI - Ray Allen scored 35 points, Rashard Lewis added 17 points and 13 rebounds and the Seattle SuperSonics snapped the Heat's franchise-record 14-game winning streak.
With the score 98-95, Lewis fouled Miami's Eddie Jones on a 3-point try with 0.4 seconds remaining. But the Heat guard - a 78.7 percent shooter entering the game - connected on only one of three free-throw attempts, the last of which he missed intentionally.
Allen shot 12-of-25 from the field, including 6-for-10 from 3-point range for Seattle, which won its sixth straight road game and improved to 10-3 against the Eastern Conference.
Dwyane Wade had 23 of his 28 points after halftime for Miami, which led for only six of the game's 48 minutes. Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks and four assists for the Heat, who were outrebounded 46-36.
Grizzlies 92, Jazz 82
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Pau Gasol scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and keyed a third-quarter rally as the Memphis Grizzlies won their season-high fourth consecutive game.
Gasol, who had 17 points in the third quarter as Memphis took the lead, was 9-of-15 from the field to help send the Jazz to their sixth straight loss. Utah has dropped nine of its last 10.
Shane Battier added 18, while Bonzi Wells scored 13 off the bench. Battier's defense also stopped a fourth-quarter spurt by Utah as he blocked a shot and drew an offensive foul after Utah cut its deficit under double digits.
Pistons 87, Bulls 80
CHICAGO - Richard Hamilton scored 28 points, 20 in the second half, and Ben Wallace had 16 rebounds and seven points.
Tayshaun Prince added 15 points and Rasheed Wallace scored 10 points for the Pistons, who have won five of their last six games.
Ben Gordon gave Chicago a 70-69 lead on a jumper with 7:39 left, then Hamilton sparked a 14-4 run. Gordon scored 27 points for Chicago and Kirk Hinrich added 19.
Clippers 102, Nuggets 98
DENVER - Corey Maggette had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and Rick Brunson hit a key 3-pointer with 21 seconds left.
The Clippers got off to a great start, had a miserable third quarter and hit just enough shots down the stretch to win for third time in four games after a 1-7 stretch. Elton Brand added 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Brunson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
76ers 112, Warriors 104
OAKLAND, Calif. - Allen Iverson scored 29 points, Andre Iguodala had 19 points and nine rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers hung on to beat Golden State.
Kenny Thomas also scored 19 points for the 76ers, who made 13 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-2 thus far on an eight-game road trip - their longest in 10 years.
Iverson, the NBA's leading scorer, converted a three-point play with 5:18 left, breaking a 94-94 tie and kicking off an 8-0 run. Golden State rallied within 106-104 with seven straight points in the final two minutes, but Iguodala and Thomas combined to go 6-for-6 on free throws in the final 38 seconds.