LeBron, red-hot Cavs roll to 6th straight win
James scores 12 of his 32 points in 4th as Cleveland crushes Chicago 102-91
 Mark Duncan / AP Cleveland's LeBron James goes up for a shot against Chicago's Michael Sweetney on Monday. |
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CLEVELAND - The Chicago Bulls tried almost everything to stop LeBron James.
But James shook off some desperation grab-and-hold tactics by Chicago’s Andres Nocioni to score 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 102-91 victory over the Bulls on Monday night.
“He believed he could guard me, I guess,” James said after surpassing 30 points for the 16th time this season and ninth in December.
“He believed his aggressiveness could make me do things that I don’t do. I just tried to use that aggressiveness against him. It’s a great battle. I like it.”
Drew Gooden scored 20 points and Larry Hughes added 19 as Cleveland improved to an Eastern Conference-best 12-3 at home and stretched its winning streak to six games. It was the Cavs’ second victory over Chicago in five days.
Chris Duhon, Tyson Chandler and Nocioni scored 15 apiece to lead the Bulls, losers of four in a row.
“We were feisty out there, but they just hit some tough shots to win,” Chandler said.
James, coming off a 4-for-16 performance with only 14 points in a win over Indiana on Friday night, shot 12-of-25 from the field against the Bulls, adding eight rebounds and six assists.
“I thought Luol (Deng) did a good job on him and Noce did a respectable job,” Bulls coach Scott Skiles . “Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if you’re really doing a good job on him or if he just isn’t kind of trying the way he wants to.”
James certainly turned up the intensity in the final quarter after exchanging glares and occasional words with Nocioni. Both complained to officials that the other was guilty of fouling.
With 3:37 remaining, James snared a rebound and essentially called a play for himself. He went 1-on-1 against Nocioni, who ended up fouling James on a shot attempt. James made both free throws to put Cleveland ahead 95-83.
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James is averaging 32.7 points in 12 games during December, helping the Cavaliers (17-9) move a season-high eight games above .500.
“We’re very confident right now,” James said. “We’re winning games, playing good defense and executing on offense.”
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