LEBRON JAMES

BY ROCK HOFFMAN

The Philadelphia 76ers gave the Cleveland Cavaliers all they wanted but in the end – to no one’s surprise – LeBron James was too much for the Sixers in a 108-101 Cleveland win at the Wachovia Center.

James finished with 36 points on 12-of-26 shooting but a pair of three pointers he hit midway through the fourth quarter keyed a Cavs comeback – that’s right the Sixers were up 94-90 when James hit the first of the shots. It came on a shot from the corner after James had corralled a loose ball. The second three, less than a minute later, tied it at 96 and came with James calmly holding the ball, waiting to shot as the shot clock ran down.

“LeBron James was being who he is,” said Cleveland head coach Mike Brown, “I don’t coach that. Anybody here can stand on the sidelines and coach that shot.”

After King James did his thing, Cleveland (19-7) would outscore Philadelphia 12 to 5 the rest of the way.

The Sixers (6-19) were down by 12 early but battled back to take their first lead midway through the third quarter on an Allen Iverson jumper – in all the teams traded the lead 12 times and they were tied six times.

“No team is under 500 when they play us,” James said, “everybody plays well when they play against us.”

Andre Iguodala had 26 points for the Sixers while Iverson and Thaddeus Young each had 16. Marreese Speights, who had not played since November 14 due to a sprained MCL in his left knee, returned to the floor and had 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench.

“I like the way he played,” said Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan, “I liked the way [he] and Elton Brand looked out there. We had some big buys finally and played off them.”

The Sixers out rebounded Cleveland 45-38, had 18 to 17 advantage in second-chance points and topped them 30 to 14 in fast break scoring.

Rock Hoffman can be reached at RDVSports@yahoo.com