Hughes cleared to play; James honored -- again

Forward Luke Jackson also resumed practice.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes could play tonight for the first time in three months after having surgery twice since January on his broken right middle finger.
Hughes' status for the game against Philadelphia was upgraded Monday from out to doubtful. He will be evaluated again after practice this morning. Hughes was expected to miss the rest of the regular season but was cleared last week to begin light practice.
Hughes was supposed to miss six to eight weeks after having surgery Jan. 6. However, the finger didn't heal properly and he had a second surgery Feb. 14.
Hughes, who signed a five-year, $60 million contract in the offseason, averaged 16.2 points and 3.9 assists in 28 games before the injury.
Forward Luke Jackson, who broke his left wrist in early February, also resumed practice, but remained listed as out.
James named player of month
LeBron James made his own March Madness.
James was named the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March and became the first player in league history to win Player of the Week honors in three straight weeks.
James averaged a league-high 32.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 10-4 mark last month. He also led Cleveland to its first playoff berth since 1998.
Last week, James averaged a league-high 42.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists, leading the Cavaliers to a 3-0 record. He posted his sixth triple-double of the season with 47 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Miami.
James has been named player of the week five times this season and eight in his career. The league began issuing the award at the start of the 1979-80 season.