James rescues Cavs in 2 OT win

Eight of his 31 points came in the second extra session against Charlotte.

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored eight of his 31 points in the second overtime, and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 113-106 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats Friday night.

James’ 30-footer gave Cleveland a 103-102 lead early in the second overtime. He followed with a free throw and a jumper before Damon Jones’ 3-pointer from the corner gave Cleveland a 109-102 lead with 1:27 left, putting the game away.

Anderson Varejao, who was questionable going into the game because of knee and Achilles’ tendon injuries, grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 16 points for the Cavaliers. Larry Hughes added 16 points.

Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 27 points, and Nazr Mohammed added 21. Jason Richardson, who scored 15 points in the first 7:07 of the game, finished with 19.

Raymond Felton’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with .03 seconds left forced overtime.

Matt Carroll’s 3-pointer with 1:25 left put Charlotte ahead 100-97 in the first overtime, but Jones responded with a 3 to tie the game.

After a Bobcats turnover, James missed a runner along the baseline and Varejao missed two tip-ins before Charlotte got the rebound and called timeout with 15.4 seconds left. Felton missed a jumper and the game went to a second OT.

Felton left the game in the second overtime after sustaining an injury to his right ankle while driving to the basket.

For most of the second half, it appeared the Bobcats would post their third impressive road win in a week. Charlotte won in New Jersey on Jan. 4 and in Boston on Wednesday night, handing the Celtics just their fourth loss of the season.

The Cavaliers built a 10-point lead late in the second quarter and led 58-51 at halftime. Cleveland has had problems in the third quarter throughout the season, though, and the Bobcats started the period with a 12-4 run and took a 63-62 lead on two free throws by Emeka Okafor with 8:14 left. The Cavaliers commit seven turnovers in the third quarter.

The lead exchanged hands throughout the final minutes, and Hughes’ drive with 1:08 left gave the Cavaliers a 91-90 lead.

After both teams missed, the Bobcats called timeout to set up a shot, but James knocked the ball away from Richardson. James and Carroll dove for the ball, which rolled out of bounds at the other end of the floor. After first awarding the ball to Cleveland, the referees conferred and called for a jump ball at center court.

James won the tip and Hughes was fouled with 5.7 seconds left, then made both free throws for a 93-90 lead. With no timeouts, Felton drove the length of the floor and hit his jump shot over Hughes and Varejao to tie the game.