Cavaliers are perfect at home

LEBRON JAMESA second wind

LeBron James scored 27 points - 18 in the second half - and Mo Williams added 23 as the Cleveland Cavaliers remained the NBA's only undefeated team at home with a 99-90 win last night over the Houston Rockets.

Daniel Gibson made two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers, who improved to 23-2 in their last 25 games and 14-0 at home. They did it against the Western Conference's best road team - Houston had won 11 straight road games against Eastern Conference teams dating to last season.

James punctuated Cleveland's 14th straight win at Quicken Loans Arena - and a heated game - by pinning Yao Ming's layup attempt to the backboard in the final minute. James sneaked up behind the 7-foot-6-inch center and slammed his shot to the glass before screaming in Yao's direction.

"That," James said, "was a heavyweight fight. It felt like a playoff game."

Rafer Alston scored 20 points and Yao, who spent most of the night in foul trouble, had 19 for the Rockets, who had a four-game winning streak stopped. Alston was back after missing four games with a strained hamstring.

Lakers 100, Hornets 87 - Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol added 20 as Los Angeles warmed up for its Christmas Day showdown with the Celtics by routing host New Orleans.

Using swarming defense to bottle up Chris Paul for much of the game, the Lakers stormed to a 19-point halftime lead and led by 20 after Bryant's jumper over James Posey early in the fourth quarter.

Paul finished with 17 points and 10 assists for the Hornets.

Pistons 104, Bulls 98 - Rodney Stuckey scored 40 points, topping his previous career high by 13, and Detroit overcame an injury to Allen Iverson to beat Chicago in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Stuckey helped the Pistons end a two-game skid and improve to 11-11 since Iverson joined the team. The star guard managed only 5 points, sitting out most of the second half with a groin strain.

Heat 96, Warriors 88 - Dwyane Wade had 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Daequan Cook scored 15 of his 20 points to spark a second-quarter comeback as host Miami matched last season's win total by beating Golden State.

Udonis Haslem scored 16 points and Shawn Marion finished with a Heat season-high 16 rebounds as Miami reached the 15-win mark in 27 games - 55 fewer than it needed last season.

Nets 108, Pacers 107 - Devin Harris's jumper from the top of the key as time expired powered visiting New Jersey past Indiana, which had just taken the lead on a jumper from the free throw line by Danny Granger with 10 seconds to play.

Harris finished with 29 points and 11 assists as New Jersey snapped a two-game losing streak. Vince Carter led the Nets with 38 points and eight rebounds.

Hawks 99, Thunder 88 - Joe Johnson had his second career triple-double (20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists), and Marvin Williams scored 21 points in Atlanta's victory over visiting Oklahoma City.

Bobcats 80, Wizards 72 - Emeka Okafor had 29 points and 18 rebounds, and host Charlotte pulled away in the fourth quarter at Washington.

Bucks 94, Jazz 86 - Michael Redd scored 27 points as Milwaukee won its fifth straight home victory and snapped an eight-game losing streak to Utah.

Mavericks 100, Grizzlies 82 - Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, Jason Terry added 17, and host Dallas stretched its winning streak against Memphis to 13 games.

Spurs 99, Timberwolves 93 - Tony Parker scored 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting as host San Antonio handed Minnesota its 13th consecutive loss.

Trail Blazers 101, Nuggets 92 - LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points as host Portland held off Denver, which was playing without Carmelo Anthony (elbow).