CLEVELAND, April 9, 2008 (AP)
- So much for LeBron James'
aching back.

After missing two days of
practice because of back
spasms, James scored 33 points
as the Cleveland Cavaliers
overcame a 14-point deficit to
defeat the New Jersey Nets,
104-83, Wednesday night.

James' back problems have been
headline news all ov
more

CLEVELAND, April 9, 2008 (AP)
- So much for LeBron James'
aching back.

After missing two days of
practice because of back
spasms, James scored 33 points
as the Cleveland Cavaliers
overcame a 14-point deficit to
defeat the New Jersey Nets,
104-83, Wednesday night.

James' back problems have been
headline news all over town
this week. He didn't practice
Monday and Tuesday to rest the
back and a decision whether he
would play against the Nets
wasn't made until Wednesday
morning.

While the NBA's leading scorer
moved stiffly at times during
his 35 minutes on the floor,
the results were vintage
James. He was 11-of-21 from
the field, made 10-of-13 from
the line, grabbed seven
rebounds and had eight
assists.

In James' mind, there was no
doubt he was going to play and
play well.

'I'm going to do what I have
to do to help us win,'' he
said. 'I didn't feel 100
percent, but I felt I could do
everything in my arsenal that
needs to be done for us to
win.''

Teammate Wally Szczerbiak, who
scored 14 points, was succinct
in his analysis of James.

'He's unbelievable,''
Szczerbiak said.

The win came at an opportune
time for the Cavaliers, who
had lost six of eight coming
in - including two straight at
home. Cleveland maintained it
two-game lead over Washington
for the fourth seed in the
Eastern Conference.

'We needed this win,'' James
said.

For much of the game it looked
like Cleveland's troubles
would continue. The Nets led
67-53 midway through the third
period before the Cavaliers
went on a 23-7 run, which saw
James score eight points.

Cleveland led 76-74 lead going
into the fourth quarter.
Bostjan Nachbar's 3-pointer to
begin the period gave New
Jersey a a one-point lead, but
that would be New Jersey's
last field goal of the game.

With James getting a rest, the
Cavaliers scored the next nine
points. Sasha Pavlovic had a
jumper, Joe Smith scored two
baskets, and Szczerbiak added
a 3-pointer to go ahead,
85-77.

By the time James returned
with 6:24 to play, the
Cavaliers were up, 87-77. New
Jersey went scoreless on 10
straight possessions and
didn't score again until Vince
Carter's two free throws with
4:36 left. The Cavaliers took
a 90-79 lead on James'
three-point play with 4:23 to
play. The Nets were 1-of-20
from the field and scored nine
points in the fourth.

'Defensively, I know it made
Coach Brown happy,'' James
said. 'It makes us happy. The
offense is easy when you can
defend like that.''

The turn of events didn't make
Nets coach Lawrence Frank very
happy.

'We couldn't buy a field goal
and we couldn't get a stop,''
he said. 'That was a 35-point
swing.''

'It's tough when you're not
hitting shots, not making
layups and calls we felt we
should have gotten, we weren't
getting,'' said Carter. 'It
was a triple-threat
negative.''

Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 for the
Cavaliers. Daniel Gibson and
Delonte West scored 12
apiece.

Carter scored 19 points and
Richard Jefferson added 15 to
lead New Jersey, which won the
first three meetings this
season against Cleveland.

The Nets led 53-49 at halftime
and scored the first seven
points of the third quarter.

Category Sports

Tags NBA, LeBron, James, LBJ, King, 33, play, alley-oop, dunk, sick, slam, moves, assist, 3pt, shot, MVP, Carter, Cavaliers, Nets