He’s still the King: Cavs top Pistons

LeBron James closed in on Cleveland’s career scoring record in the victory.

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored 30 points, moving closer to becoming Cleveland’s top career scorer, and the Cavaliers reminded Detroit that they’re still the team to beat in the East with an 89-73 win over the Pistons Wednesday night.

James came in needing 35 points to pass Brad Daugherty as the Cavs’ scoring leader. The NBA’s leading scorer will likely break the mark Friday when Cleveland plays host to the Toronto Raptors in a potential first-round playoff preview.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 points and Wally Szczerbiak 10 for the Cavaliers, the defending Eastern Conference champions. However, despite its trip to the NBA finals last season, Cleveland is viewed by many as long shot behind Boston and Detroit.

James, though, may eventually have something to say about that.

Rasheed Wallace scored 16 points and Richard Hamilton 14 for the Pistons, who were held to 63 fewer points than they scored in a 136-120 win over Denver Tuesday.

It was Detroit’s first visit to Cleveland since losing Game 6 of last season’s Eastern Conference finals, a series defined by James’ 48-point tour-de-force in Game 5 at Auburn Hills, Mich. Detroit has already clinched a spot in this year’s playoffs, the Cavs are closing in on a berth and it’s possible the teams, who have built a healthy rivalry, will meet again sometime this spring.

James examined a box score as he walked out of the locker room before the start of the third quarter. He must have noticed that he had only tried 10 shots, but that he was getting help from Ilgauskas, who missed seven games with a back injury, as well as Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace and Delonte West — all acquired in an 11-player trade last month.

Szczerbiak, who has struggled with his shot since coming over, scored two baskets early in the fourth to help the Cavs open a 10-point lead and Ilgauskas made consecutive jumpers as Cleveland eventually pushed its lead to 16.

In the closing seconds, the crowd chanted “MVP” before James capped the win with a jumper with four seconds left.

The Cavaliers, who have won eight straight at home, took a 45-38 halftime lead, closing the second quarter with a 9-0 run that featured a 3-pointer by West and a long putback by Wallace, who grabbed a rebound while in the air and dropped in his shot just before the horn.

West pumped his fist before heading to the locker room, and the arena filled with the sound of a clanging bell, a tribute normally reserved for one of the big man’s defensive stops.

Notes

Daugherty needed 548 games to set Cleveland’s scoring record of 10,389. Friday will be James’ 380th game. ... Earlier this week in Orlando, James and Tiger Woods met for the first time. They share more than a Dec. 30 birthday. “Every time he goes out he expects to win,” James said when asked what he admires about Woods, “He’s an unbelievable talent. I’ve always looked at Michael Jordan as being one of the greatest athletes of my lifetime, and Tiger is right there now.”