ORLANDO, Fla. -- LeBron James scored 36 points, Shaquille O'Neal provided an inside presence and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 102-93 on Wednesday night in a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals. Only this one had a different look. O'Neal battled boos and bruises to score 10 points and keep Dwight Howard in foul trouble for most of the night, giving James and Co. all the inside strength they sorely lacked last season. Mo Williams added 28 points to help the Cavs take a 15-point halftime lead, go ahead by 20 after three quarters and roll to an easy victory. Vince Carter had 29 points, and Howard had only 11 points for the Magic. Orlando was without suspended All-Star forward Rashard Lewis, and his replacement, Ryan Anderson, who missed the game with a sprained right ankle. But this one had all the muscle and tussle. O'Neal and Howard were banging bodies on the inside, their 500 pounds of combined weight jostling, their powerful elbows swinging large with every move. Each team even went with two centers on the floor -- Howard and Marcin Gortat, O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas -- at the same time for stretches that crowded the paint and made rebounds a physical punishment. It was Superman vs. Superman. Past vs. Present. Showered with boos on every touch, O'Neal gave glimpses that he could be Cleveland's missing piece even though the 37-year-old is no longer the unstoppable force that put the Magic franchise on the map. But he helped put Howard in foul trouble for most of the first half, helping the Cavs build a 66-51 halftime lead. The former Magic big man soaked up all the attention, too. He had amped-up Amway Arena at his pulse, even leaving his hand up a little longer after making free throws and scoffing at the Superman anthem played after Howard's dunks. Orlando fans have long considered O'Neal their biggest villain. O'Neal helped the Magic to the 1995 NBA finals, returned them to the conference finals in '96, then bolted for Los Angeles that offseason. He won three titles with the Lakers and another with the Miami Heat. Orlando was left in ruin. O'Neal's new team isn't so dependent. The Cavaliers made the move for O'Neal after the Magic eliminated them in six games in the conference finals last season. The loss was so demoralizing that James left without shaking hands with Orlando players and skipped his post-game news conference. While O'Neal is no longer an unstoppable force, his presence allows the Cavs to guard Howard one-on-one. That alone helps Cleveland avoid those matchup problems on the perimeter that was last season's downfall. After the Lakers defeated Orlando in the finals, the Magic felt they also needed help. So they acquired Carter from New Jersey and parted ways with Hedo Turkoglu. But this one was just a sneak preview. The Cavs and Magic don't play again until Feb. 11 in Cleveland, perhaps the first time both will be at full strength and in their groove. Game notes Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said he's planning to continue to play O'Neal for about 28 to 32 minutes a game, not wanting to wear out the aging center. ... Howard picked up his second foul with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter. After being fined $15,000 by the league a day earlier for comments critical of officials on his blog, Howard showed no signs of complaining about the call and walked quietly to the bench.
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NEW YORK -- LeBron James scored 33 points in his only visit to Madison Square Garden this season, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 100-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night. One night after managing just 42 second-half points in an ugly home loss to Chicago, the Cavaliers rang up 40 in the first quarter, leaving New York fans with little left to do besides cheer for the Yankees in attendance and enjoy another mesmerizing performance by James. He added nine assists and eight rebounds, but fell just shy of passing Kobe Bryant as the active scoring leader at the Garden. James improved his average to 30.4 points, with Bryant averaging 30.5 in 11 visits, according to STATS LLC James had scored 50 or more in two of his last three visits, joining Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the current building. Mo Williams scored 12 points for the Cavaliers, who have won six in a row against the Knicks and four straight at the Garden, where James loves to perform. New Yorkers are desperate for him to make it his full-time home when he becomes a free agent next summer, but the Knicks continue to offer nothing on the court that would make him consider a switch. As it is, he has as many victories at MSG this season as the Knicks, who fell to 1-5 overall. David Lee scored 21 points and former Cavs guard Larry Hughes had 18 for the Knicks, who played their first nationally televised home game since March 19, 2006, and showed they are still miles from being ready for prime time. James said he was still sore from a couple of falls in Thursday's 86-85 home loss, but vowed that wouldn't prevent him from playing the way he always does. Just to prove it, he then nearly outscored the entire Knicks team in the first quarter. James shot 8 of 9 in the period, with his second 3-pointer coming just before the buzzer to give him 19 points and make it 40-21. The Cavs made 16 of 22 shots (73 percent), closing the quarter with a 17-2 run that basically wrapped it up early. Before the second quarter started, the Yankees fan then went to the sideline and joined the crowd that included his pal Jay-Z in a standing ovation for Alex Rodriguez and six other members of the World Series champions who came onto the court between periods. James said before the game he wouldn't think about free agency until July, believing his team could contend for a title this season. The Cavs haven't been showing that yet, coming to New York with only a 3-3 record. They looked like championship material against the Knicks, whose defensive effort had to be disheartening to Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Larry Johnson, who were in the crowd. They played for the franchise back when defense was their trademark. The Knicks did cut it to single digits with under 4 minutes to play, but James set up Williams for a basket, then knocked down a turnaround jumper to make it 95-82 with 2:47 remaining. Game notes Former Cleveland ace CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira were among the Yankees who came on the floor after the first quarter. The team celebrated its title with a parade through Lower Manhattan earlier Friday. James said he was asleep and didn't watch. Former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams, now a musician who has been nominated for a Latin Grammy, played the national anthem on his guitar, and Reggie Jackson also was in the crowd. ... J.J. Hickson made his first start of the season at forward for the Cavaliers, with Anderson Varejao coming off the bench for the first time. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Luol Deng scored 15 points and helped stop LeBron James on a drive in the final seconds as the Chicago Bulls ended Cleveland's three-game winning streak with an 86-85 win over the Cavaliers on Thursday night. Derrick Rose had 14 points and 11 assists and John Salmons added 14 points for the Bulls, who handed the Cavs their second loss at home. Cleveland, which lost to Boston in its opener, only lost two regular-season games and went 45-3 at Quicken Loans Arena last season. James, who led the Cavaliers with 25 points, lost the ball out of bounds with 3.2 seconds to go after powering his way to the basket. He drew contact on the play from both Deng and Joakim Noah but the officials didn't feel he was fouled.
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