James gets 34, but Sonics stop Cavaliers 115-108

SEATTLE (AP) -- A blowout loss was personal and became just the motivation the Seattle SuperSonics needed to play their best game of the season.
After losing to Cleveland by 27 in early November, the SuperSonics responded with their most impressive win, a 115-108 victory over the Cavaliers Friday night, despite 34 points from LeBron James.
Rashard Lewis had 26 points for Seattle, his fifth straight game of at least 20 points, and Seattle won its second straight after dropping three in a row. Seattle beat a team with a winning record for just the third time.
"We knew we embarrassed our team and the entire Sonics organization," forward Vladimir Radmanovic said of the 112-85 loss to the Cavs on Nov. 9.
Added Lewis, "They made us feel like we weren't an NBA team."
Allen gets hot
Ray Allen, who finished with 21 points, made his first field goal of the second half with 10:16 left, then scored seven points in the final 3:36. His 10-footer in the lane broke a 98-all tie. He added a driving layup with 2:31 left, and his 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining gave Seattle a 109-103 lead.
Ronald Murray added a season-best 24 in a reserve role for Seattle, including a difficult baseline reverse with 29.8 seconds left to give the Sonics a 111-106 lead.
"Last game, Cleveland spent the last half of the game laughing at us," Seattle coach Bob Weiss said. "This was a big game for us. We had a lot to prove."
Larry Hughes scored 21 points for Cleveland, and reserve Damon Jones hit five 3-pointers and added 16 points as the Cavaliers dropped the opener of a three-game West Coast road trip.
Over 30 ninth time
James, who had his ninth game of 30 or more points this season, shot 14-for-27 and finished with eight assists. He was held without a field goal for 13 1/2 minutes in the second and third quarters, and managed just a free throw.
After James scored his first points in more than eight minutes late in the fourth quarter, Murray was fouled and hit two free throws with 16.7 seconds left to put the Sonics ahead 113-108.
Vladimir Radmanovic provided the capper with a steal and dunk with 13.2 seconds remaining.
"Our guys did a great job of responding," Weiss said. "We never panicked. We stayed and we kept coming back at them."
"This time, we came out with the wrong mind-set. We thought that we were going to outscore them. We can't do that with anybody," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "Yes, we can score, but we have to get defensive stops."