Leon Powe has seen the Boston Celtics at their best. They aren't there anymore.

After coming off the bench and helping the Cleveland Cavaliers put away the Celtics, 104-93, Sunday, Powe, who won an NBA title with Boston in 2008, took a moment to reflect on his former team, a squad showing signs of age and perhaps vulnerability.

"Looking at the defense from the championship year, when we won it, it doesn't look the same," Powe said. "It looks like the rotation is slower and they ain't getting to the shooters and closing out like they did before. I don't know if it's effort or maybe they're a little older.

"But they've been old."

LeBron James scored 24 of his 30 points in the second half and the Cavaliers wore down the Celtics for their second decisive win against one of the East's premier teams in less than a month.

The Cavaliers were closer to full strength with the return of forward Antawn Jamison, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds after missing one game with a sore knee. Anderson Varejao had 17 points, 10 rebounds and drove the Celtics crazy with his nonstop hustle.

"I thought one guy completely dominated the game and that was Varejao," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Loose balls, activity, getting under our skin, he's doing what he should do. That was very frustrating. He was so active. He moved his feet and we didn't."

Last month, the Cavaliers beat the Celtics by 20 in Boston. In that game, Cleveland center Shaquille O'Neal sustained a serious thumb injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The Cavaliers don't appear to be missing him right now.

Ray Allen scored 20, while Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who was in foul trouble for most of the game, had 18 apiece for the Celtics.

James added eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in another MVP-type performance. He also shook off being accidentally poked in the left eye in the third quarter by Garnett.

"I've got kind of a headache right now," said James, whose area around his eye was discolored. "I was lucky to be able to finish the game. It stayed blurry for about 15 minutes. It wore off close to the end of the fourth quarter."

The Cavaliers have held the Celtics to 24 percent shooting (10 of 41) in the past two fourth quarters. "Defensively, we were awesome in the fourth," James said. "Fourth-quarter time is our staple and that's when we turn up the aggression. That's exactly what we did."

• Heat 104, 76ers 91: Dwyane Wade scored 38 points and his supporting cast came through during a decisive stretch in the fourth quarter, helping host Miami beat Philadelphia. The Heat went on a 14-3 run to start the final period to take control of the game.

• Bobcats 96, Magic 89: Stephen Jackson scored 28 points and Raymond Felton had 16 as Charlotte held on for their sixth consecutive victory by beating host Orlando.

• Bucks 98, Pacers 94: Jerry Stackhouse tied his season-high with 20 points as host Milwaukee survived a late rally from short-handed Indiana for the win.

• Thunder 119, Jazz 111: Kevin Durant scored 35 points and Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 11 assists as host Oklahoma City made up ground in the race for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.