ORLANDO, Fla. – LeBron James and Tracy McGrady put on a show the NBA had to love.

Returning to the site of his pro debut in a summer league game, James scored 34 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, a pretty impressive day of work until you consider McGrady answered with 41 in the Orlando Magic’s 113-101 overtime victory.

Juwan Howard scored Orlando’s first eight points in the extra period, then McGrady made a pair of 3-pointers to finish with his second 40-plus game of the season. He also had eight rebounds and 11 assists.

James matched last season’s league scoring champion point for point for most of the afternoon. The rookie phenom made 13 of 28 shots, but was just 4-of-10 from behind the 3-point line and missed all four of his shots in overtime.

Howard scored 19 points and Drew Gooden had 12 for the Magic, which has won seven of 10 since ending a 19-game losing streak.

Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Cavs, who had their first three-game winning in two seasons snapped. Reserve Eric Williams contributed 18 points and seven rebounds, taking up some of the scoring slack when James’ shots stopped falling late in the game.

The first meeting between two of the NBA’s most popular young players drew the first sellout crowd to the T.D. Waterhouse Centre since James made his pro debut here in July. It also kicked off a nationally televised tripleheader featuring some of the league’s highest-profile personalities and teams.

McGrady, coming off a subpar shooting night in a 22-point loss at Philadelphia on Monday night, made his first three, including uncontested dunks on consecutive possessions that set the tone for a high-scoring first half. James was even better during a 14-point first quarter, making his first four shots and five of seven in the period.

Mavericks 111, Kings 103

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Dallas Mavericks always make themselves at home in Sacramento, no matter how many of the Kings can’t make it to the game.

Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 14 rebounds and Antoine Walker punctuated an outstanding game with a 3-pointer with 1:04 left, helping the Mavericks snap a four-game losing streak with a 111-103 victory over the Kings on Thursday.

Walker had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, hitting five 3-pointers as the Mavericks got their fifth win in their last six regular-season games in Sacramento.

In just their second home loss of the season, the Kings played without suspended All-Star Peja Stojakovic and injured forward Chris Webber, who hasn’t played since blowing out his knee early in the teams’ second-round playoff series last spring, won in seven games by Dallas.

Antawn Jamison had 22 points for Dallas, which fell behind by 18 in the first half and then struggled to finish off the short-handed Kings after a second-half rally. Dallas scored the final eight points of the game, beginning with Walker’s 3.

No matter the circumstances, the Mavericks were energized by just their fourth road win of their disappointing season.

Mike Bibby had 23 points for the Kings, who dropped to 15-2 at home this season with just their third loss in their last 19 games overall. Vlade Divac scored 21 points and Brad Miller had 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists before fouling out.

Stojakovic became the NBA’s second-leading scorer with 24.9 points per game after his career-best 41 against Memphis on Tuesday night. But the mild-mannered Serbian All-Star also angrily brushed against referee Bernie Fryer, earning the first one-game suspension of his career.

Rockets 99, Lakers 87

LOS ANGELES – The Shaq-Yao matchup was a push. Otherwise, the Houston Rockets were clearly superior to the Los Angeles Lakers – especially down the stretch.

Steve Francis had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Yao Ming and Jim Jackson added 18 points each Thursday night to help the Rockets beat the suddenly slumping Lakers 99-87.

Cuttino Mobley added 15 points and Maurice Taylor came off the bench to score 14 for the Rockets (16-12), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

The loss was the second straight and fourth in six games for the Lakers (20-7) since they appeared dominant during a 10-game winning streak.

Yao, who also had eight rebounds, committed his fifth foul and came out of the game with 9:26 remaining and the game tied at 77. He watched the rest of the game from the bench as the Rockets outscored the Lakers 22-10.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but he shot just 9-of-26 – including 1-of-7 in the fourth quarter.

Shaquille O’Neal had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Gary Payton added 13 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who shot a miserable 37.6 percent (32-of-85). The Rockets shot 44.4 percent (36-of-81).

The Lakers played without Karl Malone, who missed his second game since spraining his right knee. Malone is expected to sit out at least one more – against Boston on Sunday night – before being re-evaluated.

Malone disappointed his coach by not attending the game.

“We got a call this morning saying he wasn’t going to come even though I asked him to come yesterday,” Phil Jackson said before the game. “It’s an unexcused absence we’ll talk about tomorrow.”

Mobley’s free throw with 9:08 left put Houston ahead for good.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Mobley and Moochie Norris triggered a 10-1 run that made it 90-80 with a little under four minutes left, and the Lakers didn’t pose a threat after that.

The Lakers scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to trim Houston’s 57-44 halftime lead to three points. The Rockets missed five shots and committed four turnovers during the spurt.

O’Neal made two free throws with 3:01 left in the third period to put the Lakers on top 68-67 – their first lead of the game. The Rockets led 73-71 entering the fourth quarter.

Houston led 35-19 early in the second quarter before Bryant made two baskets for his first points.

Yao scored six straight Houston points on a 20-foot jumper, a hook over O’Neal and a tip-in to give him 16 points and the Rockets a 54-40 lead. O’Neal also had 16 points at that stage.

A follow dunk by Francis as the first half ended gave the Rockets their 13-point halftime lead.

The Rockets shot 13-of-21 in taking a 33-19 lead into the second quarter. The Lakers were 8-of-23 at that stage and drew some boos from the home crowd as the period ended.

Notes: Security at the game was “heightened,” according to Lakers spokesman John Black. “We’re not going to discuss any specifics,” he added. … Malone has missed three games this season and 13 of a possible 1,471 during his 19-year career – eight because of injury or illness and five due to suspension. … Lakers F Rick Fox, who hasn’t played since having surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left foot May 12, said he expects to return Jan. 9 against Atlanta. “Two weeks ago, I was still in that realm of uncertainty,” he said. “Now, we’re finding out the timetable that goes with this kind of injury.” … The Lakers entered averaging 102.1 points and have scored 100 or more 13 times while the Rockets were averaging 86.1 points and have scored 100 or more three times. … The Lakers are 18-12 on Christmas.

AP-ES-12-25-03 2334EST