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NBA

LeBron's 37 spur Cavs past Bulls

Associated Press
Published December 23, 2005

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CHICAGO - LeBron James scored 37, Damon Jones hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Bulls 108-100 Thursday night.

James, the NBA's third-leading scorer, was 12-for-25 from the floor - including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers - as Cleveland (15-9) won its fourth straight. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs.

Jones capped the decisive 15-0 run in the fourth quarter with three 3s, and finished with 15 points.

Larry Hughes started and scored nine points for Cleveland after missing Wednesday's practice to tend to his ailing brother in St. Louis, who had a heart transplant 10 years ago.

"Every family has something that they deal with," Hughes said before the game. "This is our challenge. ... We have to get through it and just try to stay positive."

After two free throws by Eric Snow, a steal and layup by James and a basket by Ilgauskas cut the Bulls' lead to 81-80, Jones went to work.

His 3 with 8:17 left put the Cavaliers ahead, and he hit another to make it a five-point game. Chicago's Chris Duhon then threw a bad pass, which led to another 3 by Jones that made it 89-81 with 7:05 left in the game.

Ben Gordon scored 22 points to lead the Bulls, and Andres Nocioni had a season-high 21, including 11 in the third quarter.

However, the Bulls couldn't stop the Cavaliers from penetrating. Cleveland was 33-of-41 on free throws while the Bulls were 8-for-10.

Second to Detroit in 3-point shooting, the Bulls (12-13) hit just 8 of 21 against a Cleveland team that had allowed opponents to shoot a league-high 40.2 percent from beyond the arc.

KINGS: Sacramento has lost two of its top players to injuries, with Bonzi Wells (15.1 points per game) expected to miss at least three weeks with a groin injury and Peja Stojakovic (17.0 ppg) out a week or more with an injured back.

The Kings (10-15) are off to a rough start but hoped to turn things around in a stretch when they'll play six out of seven games at home. However, they'll now start that stretch without two of their leading scorers.

[Last modified December 23, 2005, 01:14:13]

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