LeBron James scored a season-high 52 points in his 21st career triple-double, joined Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the present Madison Square Garden, and led Cleveland to a 107-102 victory over New York on Wednesday night.
Two nights after Kobe Bryant set a record at the present building with 61 points, James added 11 assists and 10 rebounds, becoming the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to have a triple-double in a 50-point game. James grabbed his final rebound with under 2 seconds left, then tumbled out of bounds as time expired.
They were similar numbers to James' game in New York last March, when he finished with 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 15 points, and Wally Szczerbiak had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four straight and eight of nine. Al Harrington scored 39 points for the Knicks.
Lakers 115, Raptors 107
Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, Pau Gasol added 31 and Los Angeles won its fourth straight and eighth in nine games.
Lamar Odom had 13 points, and Derek Fisher added 12 for the Lakers, set to play the Celtics on Thursday night in their first trip to Boston since losing the NBA finals.
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Joey Graham had a career-high 24 points, and Jermaine O'Neal added 22 for Toronto. The Raptors have lost four straight. Toronto All-Star Chris Bosh left the game with 9:50 remaining in the fourth because of a sprained right knee.
Mavericks 104, Trail Blazers 99
Josh Howard scored 23 points for Dallas, Jason Terry added 20, and Jason Kidd moved into fourth place on the career assist.
Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas.
Kidd moved past Oscar Robertson for No. 4 on the NBA's career list in the first quarter. Kidd finished with 10 assists, giving him 9,985 for his career.
Brandon Roy led Portland with 26 points.
Magic 126, Clippers 96
Anthony Johnson had a season-high 25 points for Orlando in place of injured All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson.
Johnson took control in the Magic's first game since Nelson tore the labrum in his right shoulder, doubling his regular-season career high with six 3-pointers. He was 6-for-8 from the beyond the arc and the Magic made 16 3-pointers.
Al Thornton had 27 points, and Eric Gordon added 14 for the Clippers, losers of seven straight and 21 of their last 23 games.
Nets 115, Wizards 88
Devin Harris scored 26 points, and New Jersey shot a season-high 61 percent against the short-handed Washington for its third straight victory.
Vince Carter added 20 points, Ryan Anderson had 18, and Brook Lopez had 12 on 6-for-6 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Nets, who made 12 of 22 3-pointers and turned the game into a rout by outscoring the Wizards 35-18 in the third quarter.
Nick Young led Washington with 21 points.
Bulls 107, Hornets 93
Derrick Rose scored 21 points, and Ben Gordon had 19 to help Chicago handed New Orleans its fourth straight loss.
David West led New Orleans with 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Peja Stojakovic also finished with 24 points. Star guard Chris Paul missed the game because of a strained right groin.
Nuggets 114, Thunder 113
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points, including the winning basket with 5.3 seconds left, to help Denver win its third game in a row.
Anthony also had 11 assists. J.R. Smith had 22 points, and Nene added 20.
Kevin Durant had 31 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City.
Pistons 93, Heat 90
Rodney Stuckey hit two jumpers in the final 90 seconds, and finished with 18 points for Detroit.
Rasheed Wallace also had 18 points for Detroit, and Antonio McDyess added a season-high 17 rebounds. Dwyane Wade led Miami with 29 points and 13 assists.
Hawks 94, Timberwolves 86
Marvin Williams had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Josh Smith added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Mike Bibby had 24 points and seven assists for Atlanta.
Al Jefferson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota.
Grizzlies 104, Rockets 93
O.J. Mayo scored 32 points, and Rudy Gay had 18 points and nine rebounds for Memphis in the Grizzlies second straight victory.
