LeBron James

[King Taharqa]

CLEVELAND (AP)—The Cleveland Cavaliers tied a franchise record with a 46-point first quarter Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers, making 11 3-pointers.

LeBron James tied a franchise record with five 3-pointers in a quarter. He made his first seven shots—including four 3s—to finish the quarter with 23 points. He had deep 3-pointers from 30 and 28 feet.

Cleveland shot 16 of 21 for the quarter, including 11 of 13 on 3-pointers. The 11 3s are a new franchise mark for most in a period.

The Cavaliers made 3-pointers on seven consecutive possessions and led Los Angeles 46-20 after the quarter.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AjRww1X7I4jGqF7GnMBzpOa8vLYF?slug=ap-cavaliersbigquarter&prov=ap&type=lgns

Cavs are now 4-0 vs. teams in Los Angeles this season. A hint of whats to come in the Finals? 32 points, 11 assists, 3 rebounds. Just another day at the office for the reigning MVP. King James.

[King Taharqa]

LeBron seeking second MVP

CLEVELAND (AP)—LeBron James bobbed his head to the familiar beat, grooving to a chant that has become the backing track to his splendid season.

“M-V-P!”

As James waited at the free throw line inside noisy Quicken Loans Arena, Cavaliers fans, who worry about how much longer they’ll be able to call Akron’s most celebrated son their own, saluted him with the same sing-a-long they use in Los Angeles, Miami or Denver to serenade their stars.

Only in Cleveland, the chant is a fact.

Before shooting, James pursed his lips and nodded approval to every shouted letter—in rhythm, in agreement. MVP.

Most valuable last season. Most valuable this one, so far.

With a still-improving game, James has seemingly moved into a class by himself among the NBA’s elite. None of the league’s other megastars, whether it’s Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard or Carmelo Anthony, is presently dominating games at both ends of the floor like James, who seems to be having the time of his life while doing it.

It’s his league. Fans know it. He knows it. His teammates and coaches know it. Everyone does.

“He’s been the best player for a while now, hands down,” Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “I’ve been around him so long, I kind of take him for granted.”

Easy to do. After a scorching January in which he led the Cavs to a 12-3 record and the league’s best overall mark at 38-11, James entered February averaging 29.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists, ungodly numbers that only three players—Oscar Robertson (5 times), Michael Jordan (once) and James (twice)—have reached for a full season since 1950.

Taking his stats one step further, James, now exhibiting the kind of shutdown defense that raised Jordan’s profile, is shooting better than 50 percent from the field and averaging one block per game. According to STATS LLC, no player has ever done that.

Bigger. Faster. Stronger.

Better.

James has pushed beyond what many thought were his limits.

“Wow, I don’t know if he has a ceiling,” Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said, exhaling after some deep thought. Rambis, who played against Jordan, was teammates with Magic Johnson and on the Lakers’ coaching staff with Bryant, said James has become almost impossible to defend.

“It’s scary for everybody around the league that he’s improving his jump shot,” Rambis said. “He’s just so fast and explosive that if you’re not directly in front of him, if he gets you anywhere on his side, you’re toast. He has the ability to explode and get to the basket, penetrate, finish and distribute the basketball.

“You don’t imagine anybody finding a way to stop him.”

Out with a shoulder injury, Cavs guard Mo Williams had a front-row seat for the drama. He’s seen James’ greatness and is convinced it’s growing.

“He won MVP and he’s not resting on that,” Williams said. “Every accolade he gets pushes him to the next thing. He looks at guys like Michael Jordan who has won championships and multiple MVPs. That drives him and gives him momentum to get there. I’ve seen the growth in one year. The level he’s playing at now is tremendous. It’s every night. Even nights he doesn’t shoot well, we’re still winning. He’s doing other things: rebounding, defending.”

Even coaching. James has become an extension of Brown’s staff. He’s constantly instructing teammates, sometimes with a simple hand motion to set up a play and other times with an earful of harsh criticism if he doesn’t believe someone is pulling their weight.

Jordan was the same way. He demanded much from his teammates and got it. James wants the Cavaliers to match his intensity.

“He’s being a lot more vocal and continuing to be more dominant,” Cavs guard Daniel “Boobie” Gibson said. “Everything he does, he has something in mind, whether it’s taking a shot or making a pass. He has complete control of the game and the team and when a guy’s out there like that, follow him.”

Brown, in his fifth year with Cleveland, usually begins any comments about James by shaking his head or adjusting his glasses. It’s difficult finding new ways to describe a masterpiece he sees every day. Brown can’t remember James being this good, and believes he hasn’t reached his potential.

“Which is scary,” Brown said. “It’s kind of crazy to say this, but he can play even better than he’s playing now. All these guys are big and strong and when you can have somebody separate themselves the way he has, especially a perimeter player, and physically take over a game at both ends, it’s mind-boggling.

“You wouldn’t think it could be done that way. You would think somebody would be able to outquick people and you might have trouble trapping them or kind of jump over people because they are long and athletic or be able to shoot the heck out of the ball. He’s doing all of that—and more.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiQNKXmipORYywM777DGPifJPKB4?slug=ap-lebrongettingbetter&prov=ap&type=lgns

[King Taharqa]

24 hours after the Grizz upset LA, LeBron & the Cavs dispose of them in a 16 point blowout. 22 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, a steal, a block. King James keeps on truckin'.

[CarolinaPride5]

LeBron going for 70 tonight? Or more? 35 at half.

[King Taharqa]

47 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals tonight for King James. LeBron scored 24 straight points at the end of the 1st quarter/start of the 2nd, and finished with 35 at the half. The Cavs win over the Knicks was their 11th straight.

[rico6]

Lebron's going to shatter the all time scoring record when he hang em up.

[King Taharqa]

32 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds tonight for King as the Cavs defeat the Orlando Magic for the 2nd time this season. The Cavs are riding a 13 game win streak into the All-Star break.

[King Taharqa]

LeBron's locker at the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, TX 2/14/10

[King Taharqa]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—LeBron James watched a group of reporters converge on Antawn Jamison in the locker room and yelled to his new teammate.

“Don’t worry about that,” a smiling James said, mixing in a few expletives. “You’re home. They still love you.”

Jamison burst out laughing. What else could he do? Jamison had just gone 0 for 12 from the field in his debut with Cleveland in his hometown Friday night in the Cavaliers’ 110-93 loss to their surprising nemesis, the Charlotte Bobcats.

“It was just one of those nights,” Jamison said before turning more serious. “It won’t happen again. I promise you that.”

Two days after Cleveland acquired what it believes may be the key piece to winning a championship, Jamison had five shots blocked and threw up two airballs. The Cavaliers couldn’t defend, either, and their 13-game winning streak at the All-Star break has suddenly turned into a two-game losing streak.

This new James-Jamison-Shaquille O’Neal front line isn’t dominating just yet.

“I told him, ‘I don’t care how many shots you miss, we’re going to continue to give you the ball,”’ James said. “‘Those are shots we need you to make and we know you can make them.”’

Stephen Jackson and the Bobcats had no trouble on offense, shooting 55 percent and looking far more cohesive a day after they made two trades.

Jackson scored 29 points, Tyrus Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds in his Charlotte debut, and three days after losing to the NBA-worst New Jersey Nets for the second time, the Bobcats won their third straight game against the league-leading Cavaliers in a possible first-round playoff preview.

Added Thomas, who had nine points on 3 of 9 shooting: “Coach Brown made it a lot easier for me when he told me to just go play and have fun and not worry about anything else but playing hard.”

Boris Diaw had 18 points and nine assists, Gerald Wallace had 17 points and eight rebounds and Charlotte moved a game above .500.

“We didn’t show any intensity, offensively or defensively, and they’re just a tough team for us to cover in this regular season thus far, four games,” James said. “They’ve played well against us. They have our number this year.”

James had 22 points and nine assists for Cleveland a night after being the first player in NBA history with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=ApTHQxbvr2O68ZhEhLeGb4vJPKB4?gid=2010021930&prov=ap

[CarolinaPride5]

Haha I'm loving it! Keep it up Antwan! Lakers are coming baby!

[King Taharqa]

BOSTON (AP)—The Celtics were better early, then LeBron James and the Cavaliers blew right by them.

Story of this game.

Story of the season.

James had 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Mo Williams scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland dominated the second half in a 108-88 victory Thursday night.

Unable to stop Rajon Rondo or the Celtics in the first quarter, the Cavaliers turned up the defense in the fourth, limiting the Celtics to 3-of-21 shooting and snapping a nine-game losing streak in Boston, counting playoffs.

“We haven’t had much success here,” James said. “We’ve lost nine times coming into this building. So it gets the monkey off our backs. But don’t read too much into it.”

James kept the Cavaliers in it for three quarters on a night they lost Shaquille O’Neal to a first-half thumb injury, then Williams made four 3-pointers when Cleveland outscored Boston 35-14.

“I think in the second half our level of aggressiveness really stepped up on both ends of the floor,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “There was no panic among our guys. We knew 24 minutes was a lot of time. We just started chipping away from it.”

Cleveland improved to 20-10 on the road, tying Boston for the best in the NBA, and avenged a 95-89 home loss on opening night.

The Cavaliers trailed for nearly all the first three quarters, then quickly took control in the fourth. Williams’ basket gave them the lead for good at 79-78 with 9:13 to play, and he drilled consecutive 3-pointers to extend it to 93-83 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

James had the next four points to make it a 14-point game in another big night against the NBA’s most storied franchise. He came in averaging 30.2 points against Boston, just shy of Michael Jordan’s 30.7 mark for best in NBA history.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010022502

[King Taharqa]

36 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals. King does it again on the 2nd night of a back to back. His game tying layup with 9 seconds left in regulation sent the game to OT. Cavs defeat Raptors 126-118. Cleveland's 46-14 record is the league's best.

[IRONMAN]

With all this talk about Lebron respecting Michael Jordan so much and wanting his # retired league wide and changing his number, do the Bobcats have any chance of getting him next year?

[King Taharqa]

CLEVELAND (AP)—LeBron James had 40 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit 99-92 on Friday night in a game delayed when Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey collapsed late in the third quarter.

The Pistons said Stuckey’s vital signs were stable, and he was conscious and breathing on his own at the Cleveland Clinic. He will remain there overnight after being transported there for tests.

Stuckey was wheeled off the court on a stretcher after he collapsed and fell unconscious into strength coach Arnie Kander’s arms on the bench. Play was halted for 12 minutes as the medical staff worked on him, placing an oxygen mask on his face and wheeling him into an ambulance.

The game was overshadowed by the scary scene in the third quarter as both teams huddled at midcourt following the game and bowed their heads in prayer.

Stuckey walked off the court for a timeout, showing no signs of illness. After a few moments in a chair, though, he slumped over. Medical personnel rushed over to the Pistons’ bench with a stretcher.

Prince sat silent in his chair a few feet away with his head bowed as his teammate was being treated.

Stuckey, a second-year guard from Eastern Washington, missed two games in 2008 with dizziness. It wasn’t immediately known if the incidents were related.

James became Cleveland’s franchise leader in minutes played, surpassing Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who became the franchise leader earlier this season.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010030505&prov=ap

members of the Cavs and Pistons praying for Rodney Stuckey after his collapse.