ATLANTA – LeBron James had 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Atlanta Hawks 111-102 Tuesday night for their third victory in four games.

Jeff McInnis and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each scored 20 points for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight against the struggling Hawks.

James, who entered with a 24.6 average ranked fifth in the NBA, finished three points shy of his career high set Nov. 24 against Detroit. He went over 30 points for the seventh time this season.

Running down the left side and taking McInnis’ fast-break pass, James fed Anderson Varejao with a bounce pass for a dunk that gave the Cavs their biggest lead, 94-82, with 5:38 left. That basket ended a 15-4 run that began after Tony Delk hit consecutive 3-pointers for Atlanta.

Antoine Walker hit a 3-pointer to make it 106-100 with 57.3 seconds remaining, but it was too late as the Hawks lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Al Harrington led Atlanta with a season-high 31 points.

Bucks 115, Rockets 87

MILWAUKEE – Michael Redd scored 28 points and Desmond Mason added 24 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 115-87 win Tuesday night over the Houston Rockets.

Marcus Fizer added 15 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which won consecutive games for just the second time this season. Since starting 3-1, the Bucks are is 5-15.

The 115 points was the most the Bucks have scored this season, topping their 110 points in a double-overtime loss to Miami on Nov. 14.

Tracy McGrady led Houston with 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Bob Sura added 19 points and six assists. The Bucks limited Rockets center Yao Ming to 10 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes.

Spurs 115, Suns 94

SAN ANTONIO – In a statement game between two of the NBA’s elite teams, the Spurs spoke loudest.

Tony Parker scored 29 points in just 30 minutes, and San Antonio shot 52 percent in ending Phoenix’s 11-game winning streak with a 115-94 victory.

In a matchup of the league’s most productive offense (Phoenix) against its stingiest defense (San Antonio), the Spurs managed to assume both roles. San Antonio fell just one point shy of its highest point total of the season and held the Suns to just one point more than their season-low.

San Antonio, leading 61-54 at halftime, won the game with a 20-6 run to open the third quarter. Parker scored three baskets in the paint and Bruce Bowen added a pair of 3-pointers during the decisive burst.

Nets 84, Bulls 80

CHICAGO – Vince Carter had 25 points and six rebounds to lead the New Jersey Nets to an 84-80 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

Carter finished 9-of-23 in his second game for New Jersey, one night after limping off the court in an overtime loss at Detroit.

Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic each scored 17 points for New Jersey.

Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 30 points and Ben Gordon added 19.

The Nets’ offense was out of sync until the final 2 minutes. Jason Kidd was almost held scoreless for the first time since Nov. 17, 2001, and Carter started limping early in the first quarter and didn’t score during the first 9 minutes of the fourth.

76ers 114, Sonics 107

SEATTLE – Allen Iverson scored 34 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and the Philadelphia 76ers won their third straight game by defeating the Seattle SuperSonics 114-107 Friday night.

Iverson, the NBA’s leading scorer, shot 13-for-30 and had seven assists.

Ray Allen had 32 points, including 19 in the final period for the Northwest Division-leading Sonics (20-6).

The 76ers beat a Western Conference team for the third straight time after starting the season 0-8 against opponents from the West. They’ve won seven of their last nine overall.

Philadelphia never relinquished its lead in the second half.

Allen cut the Sonics’ deficit to 87-81 with a layup in the first 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, but Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer, Corliss Williamson converted a three-point play and Iverson responded with a 3-pointer to put the 76ers in front 96-81 with 2:14 gone in the final period. The Sonics never threatened after that.

Willie Green scored a season-high 20 points, Kenny Thomas added 15 and Marc Jackson and Williamson each had 13 for Philadelphia, which lost to Seattle at home in November.

For the Sonics, Luke Ridnour had 16 points and nine assists, while Reggie Evans had 14 points.

The Sonics cut their deficit to three points three times in the third quarter, the last time at 76-73 with 3:49 to go on two free throws by Allen. The 76ers outscored Seattle 11-6 after that with Iverson making a layup in the final minute.

Thomas had 13 points in the first quarter and Iverson 10 in the second, helping the 76ers to a 59-48 lead at halftime. Philadelphia’s biggest lead in the opening half was 15 points at 59-44 after Iverson’s reverse layup on a fast break with 1:20 left.

The Sonics lost on a night when their 3-point shooting was off. They were 8-for-33, with Vladimir Radmanovic going 1-for-7.

Notes: The Sonics got back PG Antonio Daniels back after he missed two games because of acute tonsillitis. Daniels played 20 minutes and scored six points on 1-for-4 shooting. … The 76ers beat the Sonics for the fourth straight time in Seattle. Seattle’s last victory over Philadelphia at home came March 19, 2001.

AP-ES-12-29-04 0049EST