LeBron James scored 33 points in his only visit to Madison Square Garden this season, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 100-91 victory against the New York Knicks last night.

One night after managing just 42 second-half points in an ugly home loss to Chicago, the Cavaliers rang up 40 in the first quarter, leaving New York fans with little left to do besides cheer for the Yankees in attendance and enjoy another mesmerizing performance by James.

He added nine assists and eight rebounds, but fell just shy of passing Kobe Bryant as the active scoring leader at the Garden. James improved his average to 30.4 points, with Bryant averaging 30.5 in 11 visits, according to STATS LLC.

James had scored 50 or more in two of his past three visits, joining Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the current building.

New Yorkers are desperate for James to make it his full-time home when he becomes a free agent next summer.

Before the second quarter, James, a Yankees fan, joined the crowd that included his pal Jay-Z in a standing ovation for Alex Rodriguez and six other members of the World Series champions who came onto the court between periods.

David Lee scored 21 points and former Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes had 18 for the Knicks, who played their first nationally televised home game since March 19, 2006.

n Bobcats 103, Hawks 83: Raja Bell scored 24 points and Charlotte looked nothing like the NBA's lowest scoring team. Bell hit 9 of 12 shots, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

n 76ers 97, Nets 94: Andre Iguodala scored a late 3-pointer to give Philadelphia the lead as the 76ers rallied past short-handed New Jersey. The Nets were without six players due to injury.

n Pacers 102, Wizards 86: Tyler Hansbrough scored 13 points in his debut for Indiana. The first-round draft pick from North Carolina missed the preseason and the first four regular-season games with a right shin injury. The Pacers have won two in a row.

n Nuggets 96, Heat 88: Dwyane Wade scored 22 points, Jermaine O'Neal added 18 and Miami dealt Denver its first loss of the season. The Heat are 5-1 for only the third time in their 22 seasons.

n Suns 110, Celtics 103: Jason Richardson bounced back from his worst game of the season to score 34 points with 10 rebounds, and Phoenix rebounded from its only defeat to beat previously undefeated Boston.

n Magic 110, Pistons 103: Dwight Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help Orlando hold off Charlie Villanueva's 22-point fourth quarter for Detroit. Orlando had lost 20 of 25 regular season games to the Pistons.

n Bucks 87, Timberwolves 72: Andrew Bogut bested Al Jefferson inside with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Milwaukee outscored Minnesota, 31-14, in the third quarter for the win.

n Raptors 107, Hornets 90: Chris Bosh scored 27 points and Toronto used a 27-4 run in the third quarter to take control over New Orleans.

n Rockets 105, Thunder 94: Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry scored 21 points apiece and host Houston extended its winning streak over the Oklahoma City franchise to 11 games.

n New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn said yesterday he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but remains healthy and is optimistic that he will conquer the disease. A businessman from Kannapolis, N.C., the 68-year-old Shinn has been the owner of the team since he received an expansion franchise in Charlotte, N.C., in 1988.

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