A six-day layoff may have limited King James' conditioning, but not his skills. Any concern over LeBron James' ankle was alleviated in the first few minutes.

James had 23 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds in his return from a two-game absence, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won for the 14th time in their past 19 road games with a 100-95 victory against the host Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

Back from an injured right ankle, James featured a crossover dribble for a step-back 3-pointer and soon followed with a no-look pass to Anderson Varejao. Don't forget the monstrous reverse dunk off an alley-oop pass.

"I felt a little off rhythm," said James, who shot 7 of 18 from the field and 6 of 12 from the free-throw line. "My wind was a little off, but it felt great to get back on the court with the guys."

James, the league's leading scorer, recorded his 26th double-double. He entered the game averaging 30.0 points, 8.5 assists and 7.2 rebounds.

Even with some offensive struggles, James' defense stuck out.

"I thought defensively in the second half, LeBron had some big plays for us on the weak side," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.

"He busted it a couple of times going from the strong side to the weak side. He definitely made some spectacular plays on the weak side."

Mo Williams added 21 points, Delonte West contributed 17 and Varejao had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers (51-15), who own the league's best record.

Cleveland also won for the seventh consecutive time at the Wachovia Center.

"What a beautiful game," Brown said. "It was pretty from all aspects."

Cleveland's bench outscored the 76ers' 44-20. Cleveland played without forward Antawn Jamison, who didn't make the trip because of left knee stiffness.

"It was good to get a win on the road like this without Antawn," James said.

• Thunder 104, Nets 102: Kevin Durant scored 32 points, his franchise-record 36th 30-point game this season, as host Oklahoma City beat NBA-worst New Jersey for its 16th victory in 19 games. Durant made two clinching free throws after Devin Harris missed with 24 seconds left. The All-Star passed Spencer Haywood's mark from the 1972-1973 season.

• Heat 108, Bulls 95: Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-high 25 points as host Miami added to Chicago's recent run of misery by beating the undermanned Bulls. Miami extended its season-best home winning streak to five games and passed Toronto for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference.

• Lakers 102, Suns 96: Kobe Bryant had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists but it was the all-around game of visiting Los Angeles that led to the victory against Phoenix. The Suns rallied from 15 down before the Lakers pulled ahead for good.

• Bobcats 106, Clippers 98: Stephen Jackson scored 24 points as host Charlotte held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat struggling Los Angeles. Raymond Felton had 10 points and 11 assists for the Bobcats.

• Grizzlies 119, Knicks 112: Zach Randolph had 24 points and 11 rebounds as host Memphis held on for a victory against New York. New York trailed by as many as 29 in the third quarter, but pulled within 115-110 in the final minute.

• Celtics 122, Pacers 103: Paul Pierce scored 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 11 assists in just three quarters as Boston snapped a two-game losing streak with a victory against visiting Indiana.

• Bucks 95, Jazz 87: Ersan Ilyasova scored on a putback with 27.2 seconds remaining for the lead as host Milwaukee knocked off yet another NBA powerhouse, holding on to beat the Utah.

• Spurs 103, Timberwolves 85: Richard Jefferson had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in his first start in seven games to help visiting San Antonio to the victory against hapless Minnesota. Tim Duncan had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs.

• Nuggets 102, Hornets 95: Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Denver extended its winning streak to five with a victory against New Orleans. Chauncey Billups scored 21 points for Denver.

• Pistons 101, Wizards 87: Will Bynum had a career-best 20 assists and Jonas Jerebko scored 18 points as Detroit beat Washington at Auburn Hills in a matchup of two of the East's worst teams.

The bottom line

The New Jersey Nets lost Friday to the Oklahoma City Thunder. How they stand after 63 games in their bid to avoid finishing with a worse record than the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers -- the worst of all time at 9-73.

Category No.

Nets after 63 games 6-57

76ers after 62 games 5-58

Games remaining 19

vs. teams at or above .500 12

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