Cleveland's James scores 47 in another rout of NY
CLEVELAND: LeBron James arrived fashionably late on Saturday night to his New York party.
He didn't need long to catch up.
James scored 47 points, including 24 straight for Cleveland in the first half, and the Cavaliers held off the Knicks 113-106 for their 11th straight victory.
"It's something that can't be explained," James said of his stunning streak. "It's a feeling I wish I could be in every game but it's not possible. It was a great moment."
James, who historically has saved some of his best performances for the Knicks, set a franchise record with 35 points in the first half. He finished one point shy of his season high while adding eight rebounds and eight assists.
He needed just 5:29 to score 24 straight - 16 in a row to end the first quarter and eight straight to start the second. He closed the first quarter with four 3-pointers in the final two minutes, including a pair from 32 feet in the final 37 seconds. He shot 8 of 11 for the quarter.
"You sometimes become a fan because he's taking 3-point shots way beyond the arc," New York's Chris Duhon said. "Sometimes you get star-struck and you just start to get in a daze."
James' final 3 of the first quarter, from the "A" in the Cavaliers' half-court logo, came at the buzzer. He celebrated by charging toward the fans and throwing open his arms as the sellout crowd inside the Q roared.
With James' free agency pending this summer and the woeful Knicks dreaming of him in New York blue and orange next season, the Knicks could only stand by and watch James embrace his hometown crowd.
"My God," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He didn't even come close to missing."
AP
(China Daily 02/08/2010 page23)
