Cavs' James has something extra in OT

With so much on the line and the game slipping away, LeBron James wasn't going to take a back seat.

James scored 39 points, including 7 in overtime, and Larry Hughes added 21 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-108 victory over the host Chicago Bulls yesterday.

Trailing, 108-104, with a minute left in overtime, James converted a 3-point play to make it 108-107 with 42.3 seconds left. Then Ben Gordon drove and missed a wild shot. James got the rebound and put Cleveland ahead for good with a jumper in the lane that made it 109-108 with 20.7 seconds left.

"We were down 4 and I just wanted to be aggressive," James said. "I didn't want to settle."

Hughes hit three free throws in the closing seconds to secure the Cavaliers' victory. Cleveland leads Chicago by 1 1/2 games for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Hornets 103, Knicks 94 -- At Oklahoma City, David West scored 20 points and New Orleans held New York to one field goal in overtime.

Chris Paul scored 7 of his 16 points in the extra period, when the Knicks went 1 for 8 from the field.

The Knicks' Eddy Curry scored 34 points.

Nets 86, 76ers 82 -- A foul-plagued Vince Carter scored 13 of his 19 points in the third quarter and host New Jersey shut down Philadelphia.

Clippers 99, Trail Blazers 86 -- Cuttino Mobley had 25 points, Elton Brand added 21, and Los Angeles cruised past host Portland.