James takes command to lead Cavaliers past Nets

NEW YORK (Reuters) – LeBron James recorded his third
triple-double of the season and seventh of his career to
inspire the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-85 victory over the New
Jersey Nets on Wednesday, extending their winning streak to
seven games.

James bagged 26 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and dished
out 10 assists in front of the home fans to claim their first
win over the Nets in six meetings.

Drew Gooden contributed 18 points and six rebounds to the
Cleveland cause while Sasha Pavlovic had 14 points.

Vince Carter bagged a game-high 29 points for New Jersey,
Richard Jefferson added 19 and Jason Kidd 14 but the Nets could
not follow up their impressive win over league-leading Detroit
on Tuesday, absorbing their fifth loss in six games.

For three quarters the Nets kept pace with the surging
Cavaliers, the two teams heading into the final 12 minutes
deadlocked at 62-62.

Cleveland, however, quickly seized control by opening the
final quarter with an 8-0 run and would never trail the rest of
the way to the buzzer.

In Indianapolis, Peja Stojakovic scored 26 points and
grabbed 13 rebounds on his home debut in leading the Indiana
Pacers to a 105-79 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Obtained from the Sacramento Kings last week for Ron
Artest, Stojakovic made a fine first impression on the home
fans by taking a leading role for the injury-hit Pacers, who
played without all-star Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley.

Stojakovic may have to shoulder even more responsibility in
coming games after Stephen Jackson crashed to the floor in the
open half injuring his back.

Jackson had to be helped off the court and was taken to the
hospital, where he was kept overnight for observation. There
was not immediate report on the seriousness of his injuries.

Fred Jones helped out with 16 points and Jeff Foster
chipped in with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Pacers snapped
a six game losing streak.

Just 10 days after Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the Lakers
could only muster 79 as a team.

Once again Bryant led the Lakers but was held to just 26
points, well below his league-leading average of 36 per game.

In Auburn Hills, Richard Hamilton bagged 21 points and
Tayshaun Prince added 20 as Detroit Pistons responded to a rare
loss with a convincing 90-74 win over the Minnesota
Timberwolves.

Having had their 11-game winning streak halted by the Nets
on Tuesday, the Pistons quickly set off on another run
improving their record to an NBA-best 36-8.

Antonio McDyess contributed 11 points to the win while Ben
Wallace failed to score but dominated on the boards pulling
down 17 rebounds.

The Pistons have not lost back-to-back games this season.

Kevin Garnett and Trenton Hassell both had 14 points for
the Timberwolves.

(Writing by Steve Keating in Detroit)