King James tames Bulls
LeBron dazzles in rare point guard role
LOS ANGELES: LeBron James scored 34 points and passed out 13 assists to spark a revamped Cleveland Cavaliers line-up to a 119-112 NBA victory over visiting Chicago.
Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James, whose 13-of-20 shooting included four threepoint baskets, was shifted from forward to point guard for the first time in five seasons as Cavs coach Tyronn Lue juggled his line-up in moving guard Dwyane Wade to a reserve role.
“I’m looking for my guys a little bit more starting at the point, especially in transition. I’m being more of a precise, precision passer and I’m not kind of full speed ahead in transition,” James said on Tuesday.
“I’m kind of looking at what’s going on and getting my guys the ball, but for me, I just try to stay in attack mode when need be and, if I see the hot hand, start going for my guys and getting them the ball.”
Wade, a former James teammate on two NBA championship teams in Miami who joined the Cavs after playing in Chicago last season, was benched at his own request after struggling as a starter.
Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 41 points and sank the go-ahead three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to lead the host Orlando Magic to a 125-121 victory over Brooklyn. Evan Fournier scored 28 points, 12 of them in the game’s last 5:22, and Gordon also contributed 12 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell led the Nets (2-2) with 27 points.
C.J. McCollum scored 23 points, four of them in a game-ending 9-0 run, to power the Portland Trail Blazers over New Orleans 10393. Portland stretched the NBA’s record longest win streak in home openers to 17, having last lost one to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000. DeMarcus Cousins scored 39 points in a losing cause.
Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and rookie Jayson Tatum added 22 to power the Boston Celtics over the visiting New York Knicks 11089. Kyrie Irving had 20 points and seven assists while Al Horford added 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Celtics improved to 2-2.
Victor Oladipo scored 28 points while Cory Joseph added 21 off the bench to power the Indiana Pacers over host Minnesota 130-107 while Blake Griffin scored 22 points to lead the host Los Angeles Clippers over Utah 10284. — AFP