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James takes command to lead Cavaliers past Nets

Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 00:57 CST

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)

Source: REUTERS

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