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LeBron James Elbowed by Shaq
Dec 25, 2007
On Christmas, he felt lucky to still have his two front teeth.
"I got elbowed by Shaq in the face, which is not a good thing," James said. "Ever."
James shook off the big man's blow to the head and scored 25 points, Drew Gooden had 18 and Cleveland's defense arrived in time for the holiday, sparking the struggling Cavaliers to a 96-82 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
James, who left Quicken Loans Arena in disgust following an embarrassing loss to Golden State on Sunday, added 12 assists and outshined fellow superstar and good friend Dwyane Wade, who scored 22 points but didn't make his first field goal of the second half until there was only 4:01 remaining.
By then, the Cavaliers were already ahead by 12 points, and thanks to a defense that had gone AWOL for most of the season's first two months, they rolled to just their fourth win in the last 14 games.
"When we play defense we're a pretty good team," James said. "When we don't, we don't look so well -- simple as that. Today was a good step."
LeBron James Lead Cavs to Defeat Dallas 88-81
Dec 28, 2007
LeBron James' night started with a face-full of a defender's hand and got worse with a slip in an empty backcourt. Then came two painful drives, the first leaving him with an aching wrist, the other forcing him to blink away stars from another pop in the face.
There was nothing easy or smooth about this game.
Despite the bruises, foul trouble and errant shooting, James managed 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Dallas Mavericks 88-81 on Thursday night in a game almost as difficult to watch as it was to play.
"I took some blows tonight," James said. "I don't come out of the game. I'm fine. I shake it off and go to the next play. That didn't stop me once I got hit the first time from going back into the interior. It isn't going to stop me."
Cleveland won consecutive games for the first time in a month, yet there won't be many clips from this game on the year-end highlight film. The Cavaliers shot 36.4 percent, misfired on 14 of 16 3-point attempts and missed 10 free throws.
Still, they won in Dallas, something they hadn't done since March 23, 2000, when James was a high school freshman. The Cavs also avenged an 18-point loss to the Mavs in the season opener.
"You can't overrate this win," said center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. "It's a good win, but we've got a long way to go."
Dallas lost its second straight after winning five in a row. The Mavs fell to 6-6 against the Eastern Conference and have lost 11 games overall, after dropping only 15 last season.
The problems this time were much the same as the previous night in Utah. One of the biggies was that Dallas got too comfortable behind the 3-point line even though the shots weren't falling; the Mavericks were 4-of-20.
Cavs Defeated Hawks 98-94
Jan 2 , 2008
James scored 32 of his 36 in the second half, including 19 in the fourth quarter and 12 in the final 1:50 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
James, who just celebrated birthday No. 23 -- to match his uniform number -- began the new year with another dominating performance, one that has almost become routine for Cleveland's star of stars.
"He got into one of those zones we all love," Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson said. "It was fun to watch."
"I demanded the ball, went up there and made them," said James, criticized in the past for suspect free-throw shooting.
James wasn't perfect in the fourth. After his 3-pointer with 5:23 left put the Cavs up 83-79, he missed four consecutive attempts before knocking down three straight jumpers to give Cleveland a 91-86 lead with 37 seconds to go.
Cleveland Cavaliers' Larry Hughes, top, puts pressure on Atlanta Hawks' Anthony Johnson in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 98-94.
Although he briefly lost his touch, James didn't once think about passing up a shot. "I'm going to continue to shoot," he said. "I've always got confidence."