By The Associated Press

BOSTON – LeBron James had 43 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame Paul Pierce’s 50-point performance to beat the Boston Celtics 113-109 in double overtime on Wednesday night.

Drew Gooden added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Damon Jones had 13 points for Cleveland.

Pierce shot 17-for-36 from the field and 16-for-20 from the free-throw line to become the first Celtic to score 50 since Larry Bird had 60 on March 12, 1985.

Cleveland (31-21) matched its 52-game record from last year. While the Cavaliers closed last season 11-19 and missed the playoffs, this year’s team enters the All-Star break in second place in Central Division.

The Celtics trailed by as many as 13, but Pierce scored 31 points after the first half to keep the game close before fouling out with 1:00 remaining in the second overtime. Boston (20-32) lost its seventh game in nine tries.

James, coming off a 44-point performance against San Antonio on Monday night, drew Pierce’s final foul with 1:00 remaining and made 1-of-2 free throws to put the Cavaliers up 109-107.

On Cleveland’s next possession, James sealed the game with a layup in traffic.

Wally Szczerbiak scored 17 points and Delonte West added 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points for Cleveland, but missed a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining in regulation that would have iced the game.

Following Ilgauskas’ misses, Pierce drew a foul on James with 0.2 seconds remaining and hit both free throws to send the game into overtime.

After a pair of Ryan Gomes layups gave the Celtics a 90-88 lead with 1:54 remaining, James hit a layup in traffic to tie the game.

James then deflected a pass to Pierce, raced down the floor, received an Eric Snow pass at the free-throw line and threw down a slam dunk over West to put the Cavaliers up 92-90 with 1:23 left.

Damon Jones made 1-of-2 free throws with 26.4 seconds remaining and James blocked a West 3-point attempt in the closing seconds.

James was outscored by Pierce 17-6 in the fourth quarter and missed a potential game-winning free throw in the closing seconds of the first overtime before redeeming himself in the second overtime.

‘Wolves 102, Sonics 92

MINNEAPOLIS – Ricky Davis scored 25 points and Kevin Garnett added 23 points and 15 rebounds, pushing the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Seattle SuperSonics 102-92 on Wednesday night to end a four-game losing streak – all at home.

Trenton Hassell chipped in 12 points, and Anthony Carter and Rashad McCants each scored 10, giving the Wolves only their second win in their last nine games.

Hornets 102, Blazers 86

OKLAHOMA CITY – Kirk Snyder scored 22 points to lead New Orleans to a 102-86 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, but the Hornets lost star rookie Chris Paul to another injury.

Paul slammed into 7-foot-3, 305-pound Blazers center Ha Seung-Jin, with 6:17 left in the third quarter and remained on the floor for a few moments, kicking his legs in pain. Already wearing a flak jacket to protect his bruised left ribs, Paul grabbed at his left shoulder, which made contact with Ha and then with the floor as he rolled to the ground.

Heat 110, Magic 100

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwyane Wade had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists to lift the Miami Heat over the Orlando Magic 110-100 Wednesday night.

The loss came on a busy day for the Magic, who were working to complete a trade with the Detroit Pistons for Darko Milicic, the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft.

A source within the NBA, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced by either team, said the Magic also will receive Carlos Arroyo in exchange for a first-round selection and Kelvin Cato.

Grizzlies 84, Kings 78

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Pau Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an 84-78 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shane Battier put Memphis ahead 80-78 with 4:34 left. Neither team would score again until a pair of free throws by Eddie Jones with 13.9 seconds remaining. Two more free throws by Chucky Atkins with less than a second left sealed the Memphis victory.

Nets 95, Bobcats 94

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Vince Carter tipped in his own miss with 9.6 seconds left to lift the New Jersey Nets to a 95-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, snapping a seven-game road losing streak.

Richard Jefferson scored 25 points and Nenad Krstic added 20. Carter had 19 points and Jason Kidd finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Nets, who enter the All-Star break atop the Atlantic Division. Brevin Knight scored a game-high 28 points, but missed an opportunity to win the game when his leaner in the lane hit the front rim with 3 seconds left.

Knicks 98, Raptors 96

NEW YORK – Jamal Crawford made a jumper with 3 seconds left and the New York Knicks snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 98-96 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Eddy Curry scored 18 points and Jalen Rose had 17 against his former team.

to earn his first victory since joining the Knicks. New York won for only the second time in 18 games, snapping its longest skid since ending the 1984-85 season with a franchise-record 12 straight losses. That hasn’t been Rose’s fault. He entered the game averaging 17.8 points since joining the Knicks after a Feb. 3 trade with the Raptors.

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