LeBron James scored 24 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers post a scrappy 88-81 road victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
James also had eight rebounds and seven assists in a bruising match-up as Cleveland won in Dallas for the first time in seven years.
"I know I can take more pounding than anybody else on the court tonight," James, who went to the foul line 10 times in the first half, told reporters.
"So I've got to continue to be aggressive and if they (the Mavericks) going to come at us and give hard fouls, I'll give it back."
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (left) drives as Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard defends during their NBA basketball game in Dallas, Texas on Thursday. Reuters
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Larry Hughes contributed 17 points as the Cavaliers won despite shooting only 36.4 percent from the floor while registering a woeful two-of-16 three-point attempts.
In a game where both teams were guilty of poor shooting, Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 19 points and 20 rebounds but made only six-of-17 shots from the floor.
Josh Howard also had 19 points for the Mavericks, who managed just 36.5 percent of their field-goal attempts.
Dallas trimmed a 13-point Cleveland advantage to one in the fourth quarter but could not move into the lead.
In Seattle, Paul Pierce scored 37 points and Kevin Garnett added 23 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 104-96 triumph over the Seattle Supersonics.
The victory boosted Boston's NBA-best record to 24-3 and after just under one-third of their 82-game league schedule, the Celtics are on pace to challenge the NBA one-season record of 72-10 set by Chicago.
Garnett also grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked two shots but it was Pierce's season-high point total after starting 2-of-11 from the floor that gave the Celtics their third triumph in a row.
Pierce had three 3-point shots and 13 points in the third quarter but Boston still clung to only a 70-67 edge before reserve Eddie House scored seven points in a 21-10 Boston run that sealed the triumph.
Boston's Ray Allen returned to Seattle for the first time since a trade to the Celtics last season. A sellout crowd gave Allen a standing ovation but the All-Star guard went 4-of-13 from the field and scored only 10 points.
Rookie Kevin Durant led Seattle with 25 points. The Sonics fell to 8-21 with only Northwest division foe Minnesota at 4-23 below them in the entire league.
In Los Angeles, Amare Stoudemire scored 30 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in the Phoenix Suns' 108-88 road romp over the Clippers. Corey Maggette topped the Clippers with 21 points.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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