LeBron Hits 44

12/14/2009

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Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James poses with his trophy after being named the NBA Most Valuable Player during a ceremony at James' alma mater, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, in Akron, Ohio on Monday, May 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

By sportsnetwork.com

LeBron James scored a season-high 44 points and Mo Williams hit a half-court shot on the way to a 22-point night in Cleveland's 102-89 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Williams scored 11 points in the final quarter, including eight during a game- sealing 14-0 spurt.

James shot 16-of-29 from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, as the Cavaliers won their second straight game. Anderson Varejao had 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which has captured six of its last eight contests.

"We're a confident bunch, but it's definitely good to get wins like this, especially on the road," said James. "Even though these (Thunder) guys are young, they play together. They play hard."

Kevin Durant poured in 29 points, but also accounted for seven of Oklahoma City's 16 turnovers. Jeff Green tallied a season-best 26 points for the Thunder, who had their two-game win streak broken. Russell Westbrook netted 10 points on just 4-of-15 shooting.

James accounted for the final 10 Cleveland points of the third quarter, hitting a trio of long-distance shots, but that gave the visitors only a 78-76 edge moving to the fourth.

The Thunder managed to tie the game at 82, but then faltered down the stretch. Williams' three-ball extended the margin to 91-87 with under seven minutes left, and started the 14-0 flurry.

The teams then went nearly three minutes without a point until Williams made the most influential bucket of the night. The veteran guard picked up a loose ball beyond half-court, but with the shot clock about to expire, Williams was forced to heave it toward the basket and it swished through. That provided a 94-87 lead with 4:06 left.

"What can you do about that? We were down four at that point," said Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha. "That was really tough. It's a tough loss, but we have to take a positive out of it."

James' jumper with under a minute left finished the spurt. The Thunder scored just two points -- Nenad Krstic's layup with 29.9 seconds left -- in the final seven minutes.

The Thunder held a 29-27 edge after 12 minutes. James netted Cleveland's final 12 points of the second, but the Cavs trailed 54-49 at the break.

Game Notes

Cleveland has won three straight meetings...Durant and Green combined to go 19-of-21 at the foul line...Cleveland finished 11-of-22 from three-point range.

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