Before the game, James met for the first time with Robertson, the Hall of Famer with whom he is often compared.

“Hi, Oscar Robertson,” the legend said, extending his hand to the 21-year-old superstar.

“LeBron James,” the kid said.

Robertson, the only player to average a triple-double for a season, was not yet in his courtside seat in the first quarter when James fed Gooden with a gorgeous no-look pass before Pavlovic threaded him a bounce pass for one of James’ signature windmill dunks.

James began toying with his seventh career triple-double right away, getting 10 points, four assists and three rebounds in the first 12 minutes. James didn’t score in the second period but tacked on three more assists in a ragged quarter for both clubs.

Indiana’s troubles continued in the third as the Pacers needed 7:23 to score their first two field goals and they had just seven points in the first 9:54 before a 6-0 run made it 69-51 entering the fourth.

“I don’t think we’ve had a defensive performance like this,” James said. “We came in with a defensive mind-set that we wanted to get stops. Even in the games we lost on the trip, we played some good defense, but we just weren’t able to hit a big shot.”

Artest would have fit right in when tempers flared during the third under Cleveland’s basket when Indiana’s Jeff Foster committed a hard foul on Gooden. The Cavaliers forward grabbed a handful of Foster’s jersey before O’Neal, Pavlovic and others exchanged words, pushes and shoves.

“What skirmish? joked Gooden, sporting a cut on the bridge of his nose. “There were a lot of skirmishes out there.”

Notes: Robertson, who had 181 career triple-doubles, thinks James can one day average a triple-double for 82 games. “The key are the rebounds,” the Big O said to a nodding James. “He can do it. Eventually, I think he will.” ... The Cavs are 10-1 at home against teams with a record of .500 or better. ... Pavlovic made his second straight start as the latest guard to fill in for the injured Larry Hughes, who is out at least another month following finger surgery. The Cavs are 4-7 without Hughes. ... James’ mother, Gloria, sat in her usual baseline seat just days after she was arrested in Akron on several charges, including drunken driving and disorderly conduct. She pleaded not guilty and will have a pretrial hearing Feb. 6.

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