King James Mr. Assist in Cavs win

Source: (The Philippine Star)

CLEVELAND – LeBron James tied a career high with 15 assists to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the worn-down Memphis Grizzlies, 105-89, on Tuesday for their ninth straight NBA victory.

James scored 22 but was more focused on setting up his teammates. It was the fifth time in six games he has had at least 10 assists, accepting the challenge of running Cleveland’s offense while the club waits for guards Mo Williams and Delonte West to return from injuries.

Shaquille O’Neal ruled beneath the hoop, collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes as Cleveland again won comfortably - the Cavaliers have won their past four games by an average of 19 points.

Rudy Gay scored 15 for Memphis, playing its fourth game in five nights.

In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant had 33 points and 11 rebounds as Oklahoma City recovered from blowing a 13-point lead and still beat Atlanta, 106-99.

Durant became the first player since Allen Iverson nine seasons ago to score at least 25 points in 22 consecutive games. He made two free throws with 10 seconds left to complete a perfect 14-for-14 night at the foul line.

With Atlanta within two points, Durant hit jump shot of back-to-back possessions to make it 97-93 and then set up a three points by Jeff Green and a layup by Russell Westbrook that sealed the result.

Green finished with 19 points.

In Orlando, Florida, Vince Carter had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead undermanned Orlando over Milwaukee, 99-82.

The struggling shooting guard had by far his most efficient game in more than a month, giving Orlando its seventh win in eight games.

Charlie Bell and Luke Ridnour had 13 points apiece for the Bucks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Milwaukee fell to 0-3 against Orlando this season.

In Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a four-game losing skid with a surprise 90-82 win over the Bulls.

Chris Kaman had 21 points and 11 rebounds in his return from injury and Eric Gordon scored 24 points for the Clippers.

Back home after finishing a long road trip with five impressive victories over good Western Conference teams, the Bulls shot 38 percent and committed 20 turnovers in losing to the struggling Clippers. Luol Deng scored 16 of his 18 points in the first quarter for Chicago. (AP)

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