Cavs rip Lakers anew in duel of title rivals

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers showed their Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers was no gift as they repeated the feat with a 93-87 win over their NBA title rivals on Thursday.

LeBron James scored 37 points, including 12 straight in the closing stages, as the Cavs won despite playing their first game without injured Mo Williams.

J.J. Hickson grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and Anderson Varejao made three free throws in the final 20 seconds as Cleveland swept the season series between the league’s top two teams. That could give the Cavs home-court advantage if they meet the Lakers in June’s NBA finals.

A lot can happen between now and then, but the win gave Cleveland confidence it might be able to thrive despite losing Williams, their All-Star point guard who will miss at least one month with a shoulder sprain.

Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant finished with 31 points but was only 4-of-15 in the second half as the Lakers lost the opener of an eight-game road trip. Pau Gasol scored 13 for Los Angeles.

Bryant surpassed 25,000 career points in the first half, but he was unable to match James in the fourth quarter as both teams turned to their superstars.

With the score tied 80-80, James hit a 3-pointer from the left side, and after a miss by Bryant, the reigning MVP dropped another jumper to put Cleveland ahead by five. James then hit another shot to make it 87-80 with 2:48 left and the Cavs looked to be in control.

But Ron Artest hit a big 3 for the Lakers and Bryant made two free throws and a quick jumper to tie it 87-87 with 1:32 remaining.

James then blasted down the left side for a layup with 40.5 seconds to go. After Gasol missed two free throws that would have tied it, the Cavs called a timeout.

James then split a pair of free throws, but Varejao grabbed the rebound on the miss and was fouled. Varejao, a 66 percent shooter from the line, made both attempts for a 92-87 Cavs lead with 20.7 seconds left. Bryant misfired on an off-balance 3-point attempt and James claimed the long rebound, flying into Cleveland’s bench to make the save.

In Denver, the hosts made it a season-high five straight wins with a comfortable 105-85 victory over Los Angeles.

Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 20 points in the third quarter to break open a tight game, while Carmelo Anthony – selected as a starter for the All-Star game in fan balloting announced earlier Thursday – had 28 points and 10 rebounds.

It was the Nuggets’ sixth straight home win overall, and against the Clippers.         (AP)