CHARLOTTE, N.C. – LeBron James scored 30 points in only three quarters to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 103-91 victory over the gimpy Charlotte Bobcats.

The win improved the Cavaliers to 5-0 against the Bobcats, while extending Charlotte’s franchise record losing streak to 12 games. The Bobcats have not won a game since a double overtime win against Houston on Jan. 10.

But things could change for them on Wednesday when they host the Atlanta Hawks – the only Eastern Conference team the Bobcats have a winning record against (4-1).

James, who scored 44 in Sunday’s win over Phoenix, continued his trend of improving everytime he plays against the Bobcats. In all five meetings, he’s steadily increased his scoring from 19 points in the first game to 30 this time out.

He did it on 11-of-19 shooting, including an alley-oop dunk from Eric Snow that warmed the crowd up and a third-quarter reverse dunk on a breakaway that brought the fans to their feet. Earlier Monday, James said he declined the NBA’s request to participate in the All-Star dunk contest. He will, however, compete in the skills challenge.

With Cleveland leading 83-57 at the end of the third quarter, James pulled on a blue T-shirt and settled in on the bench to watch the final 12 minutes. With under a minute left, he gave his headband to a little boy wearing a James jersey sitting along the baseline.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas finished with 19 points, Donyell Marshall had 14 and Drew Gooden had 12 rebounds.

Alan Anderson led Charlotte with 14 points, while Melvin Ely and Matt Carroll scored 12 each. Jumaine Jones had 11.

Cleveland held a 15 point lead early in the second quarter, only to see Charlotte trim it to 39-32. So the Cavaliers put the ball in James’ hands to retake control of the game.

James scored seven straight points – two long jumpers, a driving layup and a free throw – in a 9-0 run that gave Cleveland a 49-32 lead. It sapped what little energy the injury-depleted Bobcats had and they never made another run the rest of the game.

The Bobcats got a slight lift in the second quarter when Kareem Rush returned after missing 13 games with a sprained index finger. Rush shook off the rust eight seconds after checking in by making a 21-foot jumper. He finished with nine points.

But his return coincided with yet another player going out – guard Raymond Felton, the only Bobcat to play in all 46 games this season. The rookie landed hard on his backside in the first half. Although he came back briefly in the second half, he left with back spasms.

Felton finished with just three points in 12 minutes before joining four other injured Bobcats on the sidelines.

Notes: The Bobcats aren’t expecting forward Emeka Okafor to return from a sprained ankle for at least another five weeks. He’s already missed 19 games. … Cleveland forward Ira Newble sat out with a migraine headache. … Cleveland coach Mike Brown spent three seasons as an assistant under Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff in Washington. … Among the celebrities turning out to see James’ show was rapper Nelly, a part-owner of the Bobcats, and NASCAR team owner Teresa Earnhardt.

AP-ES-01-30-06 2202EST