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LOS ANGELES: LeBron James scored 14 of his 41 points
in the fourth quarter on Sunday as the Cleveland Cavaliers staged
another late rally to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 98-95 in a
National Basketball Association contest.
James scored his team’s final
eight points as the Cavaliers notched their fifth straight victory
over the Lakers.
Larry Hughes and Zydrunas
Ilgauskas chipped in 16 points apiece for the Cavaliers, who posted
their league-high 17th fourth-quarter comeback.
James entered the game averaging
an NBA-leading 29.6 points per game. He had been even better over
his previous seven games, averaging 32.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and
6.9 assists.
With the Cavaliers trailing,
James took charge.
Kobe Bryant’s jump shot tied
the score at 92-92 and Luke Walton made a free throw to give the
Lakers a one-point lead with 1:20 to play.
James responded by driving for a
lay-up, which he followed with a long-range jump shot that put the
Cavaliers ahead 96-93.
The Lakers had a chance to regain
the lead when Walton stole Cleveland’s inbound pass and fed the
ball to Bryant, but the nine-time All-Star couldn’t convert the
lay-up.
James was fouled and sank two
free throws with nine seconds left to push it back to a three-point
lead.
Despite taking a timeout that
moved the ball to half-court, the Lakers were unable to get off a
game-tying attempt before the buzzer.
The Lakers have now lost three
straight games for the first time this season.
--AFP
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