LeBron leads Cavs over LA

James scored 37 points, including 12 straight down the stretch, in a 93-87 win.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers haven’t lost their holiday spirit.

Cleveland showed its Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers was no gift as LeBron James scored 37 points, including 12 straight down the stretch, and the Cavs, playing their first game without injured Mo Williams, beat Kobe Bryant and the NBA champions 93-87 on Thursday night.

J.J. Hickson grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and Anderson Varejao made three free throws in the final 20 seconds as Cleveland swept the season series between the league’s top two teams. That could give the Cavs home-court advantage if they meet the Lakers in June’s NBA finals.

A lot can happen between now and then, but the win gave Cleveland confidence it might be able to survive despite losing Williams, their All-Star point guard who will miss at least one month with a shoulder sprain. Williams scored a team-high 28 in Cleveland’s Dec. 25 win at Staples Center.

Bryant finished with 31 points but was only 4-of-15 in the second half as the Lakers lost the opener of an eight-game road trip. Pau Gasol scored 13 for Los Angeles.

Bryant surpassed 25,000 career points in the first half, but he was unable to match James in the fourth quarter as both teams turned to their superstars.

With the score tied 80-all, James hit a 3-pointer from the left side, and after a miss by Bryant, the reigning MVP dropped another jumper to put Cleveland ahead by five. James then hit another shot to make it 87-80 with 2:48 left and the Cavs looked to be in control.

But Ron Artest hit a big 3 for the Lakers and Bryant made two free throws and a quick jumper to tie it 87-87 with 1:32 remaining.

James then blasted down the left side for a layup with 40.5 seconds to go, prompting chants of “M-V-P” from the raucous Quicken Loans crowd. After Gasol missed two free throws that would have tied it, the Cavs called a timeout and before play resumed, James was caught by cameras rapping to Eminem’s song “Forever” before the ball was inbounded.

James then split a pair of free throws, but Varejao grabbed the rebound on the miss and was fouled by Artest. Varejao, a 66 percent shooter from the line, made both attempts for a 92-87 Cavs lead with 20.7 seconds left. Bryant misfired on an off-balance 3-point attempt and James saved the long rebound, flying into Cleveland’s bench to make the save.

As Varejao went to the line again with 4.1 seconds left, James popped his maroon Cavs jersey, making sure everyone knew who came out on top.

Bryant went just 11 of 25 from the floor, not much of an improvement from his 11 of 33 effort against Cleveland last month.