LeBron’s 40 leads Cavaliers past Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS — Cleveland’s offense was stagnant, and the Indiana Pacers had turned a five-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers went back to their tried-and-true formula – LeBron, LeBron and more LeBron – and it got the usual result. James scored 10 of his season-high 40 points in the final 7:07, and Cleveland beat the Pacers 105-95 on Friday night.

“When you have a guy as talented as him, sometimes your best coaching on the offensive end of the floor is staying out of his way,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.

The Pacers’ poor shooting didn’t give them a chance to take advantage of Cleveland’s lapse in the early part of the final period. James didn’t play for nearly five minutes to start the quarter, yet the Cavaliers erased Indiana’s lead while he was out.

James sucked the life out of the Pacers and sent the crowd to the exits with a 3-pointer over Dahntay Jones as the shot clock expired that gave the Cavaliers a 101-94 lead with 53 seconds left.

Thunder 127, Wizzards 108

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Russell Westbrook added 26 and the Oklahoma City Thunder had their highest-scoring output of the season in a 127-108 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Rookie James Harden followed his 24-point performance by hitting his first three 3-pointers and finishing with 25 points to set another career best. Jeff Green had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Thabo Sefolosha added 16 points.

The game marked a full season since Scott Brooks took over as Thunder coach, and he reached the 82-game mark with a 29-53 record. Oklahoma City started 2-17 under Brooks following the firing of P.J. Carlesimo, but has since gone 27-36 – including 7-6 to begin this season.

After watching Washington answer every Thunder run for the better part of three quarters, Brooks changed the game when he went with a three-guard lineup. Oklahoma City immediately went on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to 91-81 on Durant’s three-point play.

Then Brooks went even smaller, going without a center and leaving the 6-foot-9 Green as his tallest player on the court. The move worked, as Oklahoma City continued to pull away.

The Thunder’s top-5 draft picks from the last two drafts hooked up on the game’s most electrifying play to help seal it.

Grizzlies 102, 76ers 97

PHILADELPHIA — Rudy Gay received the pass and never hesitated.

When the shot swished through the net, the giddy Memphis Grizzlies had plenty to celebrate.

Gay tied his season high with 33 points, including a clutch jumper with 19 seconds remaining, Zach Randolph added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Grizzlies registered their first road win of the season with a 102-97 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

“My jump shot felt good all night, said Gay, who shot 14 of 22 and added 10 rebounds. “I didn’t force anything. I just had a good feel the whole night.”

Marc Gasol had 19 points and O.J. Mayo 12 for the Grizzlies (4-8), who have won three straight and improved to 1-6 on the road. It was their first three-game winning streak in November since 2005, and their first victory in Philadelphia since Feb. 9, 2005.

Raptors 120, Heat 113

TORONTO — Chris Bosh had 29 points and 12 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors beat the Miami Heat 120-113 on Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

It’s the second straight game that Bosh and Bargnani each had a double-double, after doing it in Wednesday’s 104-91 loss at Utah. Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points for Toronto, with Jarrett Jack scoring 17 and Jose Calderon recording 10 assists.

Dwyane Wade shook off a recent slump to score 30 points for the Heat, who have lost three straight and four of five. Mario Chalmers added 30 points, Michael Beasley had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and former Raptors star Jermaine O’Neal finished with 17.

Trailing 89-83 to begin the fourth, Miami was twice able to cut the deficit to one but never managed to take the lead. O’Neal’s two free throws made it 102-101 with 3:27 left, but Toronto responded with a 13-2 run.

Bucks 95, Bobcats 88

MILWAUKEE — Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 29 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 95-88 victory over Charlotte on Friday night, with minority owner Michael Jordan on hand to witness his Bobcats drop their seventh straight.

Milwaukee (7-3) finished the homestand 5-1 and is off to its best start since going 9-1 in 2001, even though the Bucks were without guard Michael Redd (sprained left knee) and center Andrew Bogut (strained left leg).

Stephen Jackson, in town for the second time in seven days after being traded from the Warriors to the Bobcats, scored 22 points in his third game with his new team. Gerald Wallace added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Flip Murray had 17 points for Charlotte.

Mavericks 104, Kings 102

DALLAS — Jason Terry scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Dallas got 52 points from the bench and the Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 104-102 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.

Dallas’ reserves scored 25 of the team’s 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks beat the Kings for the 11th consecutive time at home.

Terry had six points in a 12-4 run that gave the Mavericks a cushion in the fourth.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Drew Gooden pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds, and Jason Kidd and reserve Kris Humphries each added 15 points.

Sacramento rookie Tyreke Evans had 29 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 10 assists. Beno Udrih added 20 points and Jason Thompson scored 18.

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