James' third straight triple-double gives Cavs win

PHOENIX(AP) LeBron James finally won in
Phoenix, with the latest in a string of fabulous performances for the
East's front-running Cleveland Cavaliers.James had his third
straight triple-double - 34 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds - and the
Cavaliers pulled away over the final seven minutes to beat the sinking
Suns 119-111 on Thursday night."For 82 games in today's NBA,
it's probably impossible to average a triple double,'' Cavaliers coach
Mike Brown said. "But if I'm going to say there is one guy who can do
it, it's our guy.''James said he just does what is necessary."Three
straight wins, that's what it's about,'' he said. "I try to do any and
every thing for our team to win basketball games. If I've got to go out
and do that, then I'm all for it.''The game turned on one remarkable play.Phoenix
was down 97-95 and had the ball for what looked to be a breakaway
layup, but Jason Richardson decided to go for a 360-degree spin dunk.
James raced from far behind and soared to block the attempt.Sasha Pavlovic's third 3-pointer of the quarter made it 100-95 with 8:33 left.Richardson
complained vehemently he was fouled on the play and drew a technical.
Williams' subsequent free throw made it 101-95 with 8:32 to go.
Television replays clearly showed James hit Richardson's wrist on the
play."Clearly a foul, I don't care how you look at it,''
Richardson said. "It's still a foul and that's bad and that a guys
going up like that, especially trying to do something to get the fans
going, to get hammered like that and there's no call at all, that's
terrible.''Foul or not, it was a remarkable athletic play."I
just didn't give up on the play, man,'' James said. "That's just the
identity of our team and who I am. I never believe a play is over and
done with. A lot of people would give up on that play, but not me.''Brown said the play "ignited our bench, it ignited our guys on the floor.''Suns coach Alvin Gentry indicated that trying a 360-degree dunk in that situation was a mistake."Against a quality team like that, 51 wins they have, you can't afford to make mistakes like that,'' Gentry said.US
Airways Center was the only building in the NBA where James hadn't won.
He was 0-5 here, not counting this year's All-Star game loss, coming
into Thursday night's contest. The Cavaliers had lost nine in a row in
Phoenix.Mo Williams, who scored a career-high 44 the first time
the teams met this season, added 30 for Cleveland, including 6-of-10
3s. Matt Barnes scored 21 and Steve Nash 20 as the Suns extended their
losing streak to six games, their longest in six seasons."I really don't have any answers,'' Gentry said. "I think we try hard and we play hard. We just can't seem to close out games.''James grabbed a rebound with 2.8 seconds to play for his sixth triple-double of the season and 23rd of his career."To
get three (triple-doubles) in a row, I hope everybody and anybody out
there is talking about him,'' Brown said, and talking about him for MVP
because he deserves it.''Sasha Pavlovic scored 11 of his 15
points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers. Cleveland
tied a franchise record with 17 3s in 33 attempts to win for the
seventh time in eight games and improve to 12-2 since Jan. 30. The
performance came two nights after Cleveland went 3-for-20 on 3s against
the Clippers in Los Angeles.The Cavaliers, 2-0 on a three-game
western swing, won their franchise-record 23rd road game, surpassing
the 22 they had in 1991-92. Phoenix fell six games behind Dallas for
the final playoff berth in the West.Cleveland took control of
the intense contest with a late 10-2 run after Grant Hill's three-point
play cut the Cavs' lead to 101-100 with 7:04 remaining.Williams
hit a running 7-footer and a 3-pointer and James sank a 20-footer in
the surge. James capped it with two free throws that made it 111-102
with 3:45 left. Nash's 3-pointer cut it to 113-109 with 2:11 remaining,
but Williams sank another 3, James added two free throws, and the Suns
were finished.The Cavs' Delonte West left with a sore lower back
halfway through the third quarter after crashing in to Nash for an
offensive foul. X-rays were negative.Notes: O'Neal fouled out.
... Cleveland improved to 21-4 against the West. ... One more Cleveland
victory or Detroit loss clinches the Central Division title for the
Cavs. ... The Suns shot 55 percent against a Cleveland team that leads
the NBA in defensive field goal percentage (.429).