LeBron James didn't reach his scoring average and it didn't matter as the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled past the visiting Atlanta Hawks 110-96 on Saturday night for their ninth win in 10 games.
James came in as the NBA's top scorer, averaging 29.5 points. He finished with 24 - 19 in the second half - on eight-of-19 shooting. He added eight assists, seven rebounds and a few more highlight-package dunks as the Cavaliers improved to 10-3 and matched their best start since the 1988-89 season. The Cavs jumped to an 11-0 lead, pushed their advantage to 18 in the second quarter and 28 in the third while improving to 7-0 at home.
Knicks 122, WIZARDS 117 - Quentin Richardson scored 34 points - including seven 3-pointers - and grabbed 12 rebounds as the host Knicks held on to beat Washington.
ROCKETS 100, MAGIC 95 - Yao Ming had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help Houston beat Orlando on the road for its fourth win in five games.
BUCKS 79, BOBCATS 74 - Ramon Sessions had 18 points and hit two clinching free throws with 13 seconds left to help visiting Milwaukee prevail.
HEAT 109, PACERS 100 - Dwyane Wade shook off flulike symptoms to score 38 points, and Miami rallied from 15 points down to beat Indiana at home.
Nets 112, CLIPPERS 95 - Yi Jianlian had a season-high 27 points, and Vince Carter added 26 to help host New Jersey beat Los Angeles.
SUNS 102, TRAIL BLAZERS 92 - Shaquille O'Neal had 19 points and 17 rebounds to power Phoenix to a win at home.
JAZZ 103, GRIZZLIES 94 - Mehmet Okur had a season-high 23 points to help Utah beat Memphis on the road.
HORNets 109, Thunder 97 - David West scored a season-high 33 points and Chris Paul had a triple-double to propel host New Orleans. Paul finished with 29 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds.
Carlesimo fired
The Oklahoma City Thunder fired coach P.J. Carlesimo, with the team off to an NBA -worst 1-12 start in its new city after moving from Seattle.
Assistant Scott Brooks was appointed interim coach Saturday, and the team lost its 11th straight game in his debut.
