James, Cavs blast Nuggets

DENVER – LeBron James scored 34 points on the eve of his 31st birthday, Iman Shumpert added a season-high 16 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets, 93-87, in the NBA on Tuesday night.

Kevin Love had eight points and 14 rebounds to help Cleveland finish off a four-game West Coast swing with a 2-2 mark. The Cavaliers rested Kyrie Irving on the second night of a back-to-back as he works his way back from a fractured left kneecap.

Reserve Will Barton had 29 for the injury-riddled Nuggets, who’ve now dropped six of seven. They were once again without Danilo Gallinari (sprained left ankle) and rookie Emmanuel Mudiay (sprained right ankle).

Trailing by 11 with 3:07 remaining, the Nuggets resorted to fouling Tristan Thompson, who’s a 56 percent free throw shooter. Thompson struggled at the line, hitting 1 of 4, but Denver couldn’t capitalize.

James put the finishing touches on the win with a windmill dunk late in the game. On his way back down the court, James smiled at retired NBA player and Denver native Chauncey Billups, who was sitting courtside.

It was that kind of night for James and the Cavs in their fourth game in five nights.

James nearly outscored Denver’s starters by himself – 35-34.

Here was a quirky state from the first half: The Cavaliers didn’t shoot a free throw. This from a team that’s averaging 22 free throws a game.

James had quite a juke in the second quarter, when his fake on Kostas Papanikolaou opened up the lane for an emphatic dunk. That helped the Cavs open up a 15-point lead in the first half.

In other results, New York crushed Detroit, 108-96; Atlanta stopped Houston, 121-115; Oklahoma City outlasted Milwaukee, 131-123; and Memphis trounced Miami in overtime, 99-90.