James leads Cavs past Nets

CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 31 points and finished a month averaging a triple-double for the first time in his career, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 129-123 on Tuesday night.

James had 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his 12th tripledouble of the season and 67th of his career. He also reached 8,000 assists and became the first player in NBA history to reach that milestone, along with 30,000 points and 8,000 rebounds.

Rodney Hood’s three-point play with 40 seconds remaining gave Cleveland a 123121 lead.

James and George Hill hit two free throws each in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

The win could also help Cleveland’s position in the NBA draft. The Cavaliers own Brooklyn’s No. 1 pick, acquired in a trade with Boston. The Nets have the seventhworst record in the league, but have lost nine of 10. Kemba Walker scored 31 points and Dwight Howard added 24 after returning from a firstquarter back injury as the Charlotte Hornets knocked off the Chicago Bulls to win their season-best fifth game in a row. Zach LaVine led seven Bulls players in doubledigits with 21 points as Chicago (20-41) dropped its fifth consecutive game. Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 27 points, the last of those coming on a jumper that gave Miami its only lead of the fourth quarter with 5.9 seconds left, and the Heat rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have indefinitely banned a fan from their arena for making racial taunts at San Antonio’s Patty Mills. Security officials reviewed videotape from Sunday’s game and identified the fan sitting near the court. He yelled at Mills while the Spurs guard was shooting free throws in the fourth quarter. The team did not disclose his name or any details about him. He is barred from events at Quicken Loans Arena, with the team to review the ban after one year.