Cavs come back despite bad back

LeBron played through the pain as Cleveland rallied past New Jersey, 104-83.

CLEVELAND (AP) — So much for LeBron James’ aching back.

After missing two days of practice because of back spasms, James scored 33 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the New Jersey Nets, 104-83, Wednesday night.

James’ back problems have been headline news all over town this week. He didn’t practice Monday and Tuesday to rest the back and a decision whether he would play against the Nets wasn’t made until Wednesday morning.

While the NBA’s leading scorer moved stiffly at times during his 35 minutes on the floor, the results were vintage James. He was 11-of-21 from the field, made 10-of-13 from the line, grabbed seven rebounds and had eight assists.

In James’ mind, there was no doubt he was going to play and play well.

“I’m going to do what I have to do to help us win,” he said. “I didn’t feel 100 percent, but I felt I could do everything in my arsenal that needs to be done for us to win.”

Teammate Wally Szczerbiak, who scored 14 points, was succinct in his analysis of James.

“He’s unbelievable,” Szczerbiak said.

The win came at an opportune time for the Cavaliers, who had lost six of eight coming in — including two straight at home. Cleveland maintained it two-game lead over Washington for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

“We needed this win,” James said.

For much of the game it looked like Cleveland’s troubles would continue. The Nets led 67-53 midway through the third period before the Cavaliers went on a 23-7 run, which saw James score eight points.

Cleveland led 76-74 lead going into the fourth quarter. Bostjan Nachbar’s 3-pointer to begin the period gave New Jersey a one-point lead, but that would be New Jersey’s last field goal of the game.

With James getting a rest, the Cavaliers scored the next nine points. Sasha Pavlovic had a jumper, Joe Smith scored two baskets, and Szczerbiak added a 3-pointer to go ahead, 85-77.

By the time James returned with 6:24 to play, the Cavaliers were up, 87-77. New Jersey went scoreless on 10 straight possessions and didn’t score again until Vince Carter’s two free throws with 4:36 left. The Cavaliers took a 90-79 lead on James’ three-point play with 4:23 to play. The Nets were 1-of-20 from the field and scored nine points in the fourth.