The AP reports: Muscling inside at will and blasting to the rim almost every time he touched the ball, LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points—15 on free throws—with ease and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 15 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-93 win over the Bulls on Wednesday night… James added nine rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes… Ilgauskas made his sixth career 3-pointer, Ben Wallace had 14 rebounds without scoring and Delonte West had 16 points for the Cavs, who didn’t put it away until the final minutes… Ben Gordon scored a season-high 31 and rookie Derrick Rose 20 for the Bulls, who dropped to 0-3 on the road. Luol Deng had 18 points after scoring just one on Monday in a loss Orlando.
Nov 5: Hawks 87, Hornets 79
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 24 points and the Hawks made 12 3-pointers to stay perfect on the young season with an impressive 87-79 road win over a team that hadn’t lost even since preseason began… Atlanta is now 3-0 for the first time in 11 years, thanks in part to reserve Flip Murray, a key free agent acquisition who came up with big shots when Johnson was double teamed… Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists for New Orleans (3-1), while David West added 15 points and James Posey 10… “That just shows the maturity of the program,” said Atlanta’s Josh Smith, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds… Hornets center Tyson Chandler and forward Peja Stojakovic returned to the starting lineup after both missed New Orleans’ previous game last Saturday with sprained right ankles.
Nov 5: Heat 106, Sixers 83
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, rookie Mario Chalmers set a franchise record with nine steals, and the Heat scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to pull away and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-83 on Wednesday night—giving Miami its first 2-0 home start since 2004… Wade added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Michael Beasley finished with 17 points, and Shawn Marion—playing with a hard plastic mask to protect a broken nose—added 12 points and seven rebounds for Miami (2-2). Yakhouba Diawara scored 11 points and Udonis Haslem added 10 for the Heat. Thaddeus Young scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter for Philadelphia, which got 16 points from Louis Williams and a 12-point, 12-rebound night from Elton Brand. Andre Miller finished with 11 points and six assists for the 76ers (2-3), while Andre Iguodala was held to only two points.
Nov 5: Knicks 101, Bobcats 98
The AP reports: Nate Robinson scored all of his 24 points in the first half, and the Knicks ruined Brown’s first game back at Madison Square Garden with a 101-98 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats… Zach Randolph had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Wilson Chandler added 18 points and Jamal Crawford had 14 of his 16 in the second half for the Knicks, who bounced back after poor offensive performances in consecutive losses… Raymond Felton scored 18 points and Jason Richardson added 17 for the Bobcats, who showed more fight for Brown than the Knicks often did. Emeka Okafor finished with 16 points and 15 boards, but Charlotte dropped its second straight and fell to 1-3 under its new coach.
Nov 5: Pistons 100, Raptors 93
The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince more than made up for Allen Iverson’s absence, making sure the Detroit Pistons remained unbeaten. Prince scored 16 of his 27 points in the second quarter, and Richard Hamilton had 22 to help the Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors 100-93 on Wednesday night. Iverson was unavailable for Detroit because Chauncey Billups, one of three players traded to Denver in exchange for Iverson, hadn’t completed his physical with the Nuggets. Iverson didn’t sit on the team bench. Rodney Stuckey added 14 points, and Rasheed Wallace had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit (4-0)… Chris Bosh had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Jose Calderon had 24 points for Toronto (3-1) in its unsuccessful bid for its first 4-0 start.
Nov 5: Suns 113, Pacers 103
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 49 points, falling a point short of his career high in the Phoenix Suns’ 113-103 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night. Stoudemire was 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005. Boris Diaw added 14 points for the Suns (4-1). T.J. Ford and Danny Granger each scored 23 points, and Marquis Daniels added 19 for the Pacers (1-2). Indiana beat defending NBA champion Boston on Saturday.
Amare drops 49 on Pacers
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 49 points, falling a point short of his career high in the Phoenix Suns’ 113-103 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night. Stoudemire was 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005.
Nets need defense
The young Nets have some growing pains, especially on the defensive side of the floor. The Newark Star-Ledger reports: If you ask Lawrence Frank where his team is going wrong, he’ll pull out a list. The majority of the Nets’ problems pertain to their youth — lacking an understanding of positioning and tendencies, leading to game plan mistakes and bad technique and despair — and he is convinced they’ll solve them in time. But aggressiveness is also an issue. Fact: In their first three games, Nets defenders have drawn a total of five charging fouls, even though they’ve had roughly 40 chances to draw one.
Redd has minor ankle sprain
Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd missed Wednesday’s game. But he’ll be back soon. The AP reports: Michael Redd, expected to return Friday night at Boston, was injured Sunday against New York when he landed awkwardly chasing a loose ball in Milwaukee’s 94-86 victory.
Knicks old news for Larry Brown
Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who coached the Knicks in a mess of a season, moved on long ago from the New York experience. The Associated Press reports: “I just didn’t do what was expected of me, so I move on,” Larry Brown said before the game. “I was the coach here, so I realize what our record was and I can understand what Mr. Dolan was thinking, so you move on. But I don’t get any pleasure in anybody struggling.” … “Whatever happened, happened for a reason,” Brown said. “I don’t think Mr. Dolan didn’t give it a lot of thought and have input from a lot of people, and he decided it was best to move in another direction. He expected a lot from me and I guess I didn’t give him that and so you’ve got to respect that. He moved on, and I moved on.”