Kuwait Times

Published Date: March 21, 2010

CHICAGO: LeBron James became the youngest player to score 15,000 career points, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark by about two years, as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away late to beat Chicago Bulls 92-85 on Friday for their 12th win in 13 games.

James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, giving him 15,026 in his career, and had 11 rebounds. He scored seven straight late in the game as Cleveland increased its lead to 10, sending the Bulls to their 10th straight loss.

James reached the milestone at 25 years, 79 days, and he did it in his 540th game. Bryant was 27 years, 136 days and playing his 657th game, according to STATS LLC, when he did it for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Suns 110, Jazz 100
At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored the first 11 points for Phoenix en route to a season-high 44 as the Suns led all the way in a victory over Utah that pulled them within a game of the Jazz for fourth place in the West.

Stoudemire made 14 of 16 shots and 16 of 18 free throws. He scored 27 points in the second half, 16 in the final quarter, in Phoenix's first victory over the Jazz in three tries this season. Robin Lopez added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Nash 15 points and 10 assists. Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Utah.

Lakers 104, T'wolves 96
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 22 points and a season-high 13 assists to lead Los Angeles to its sixth straight victory.

Lamar Odom scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Pau Gasol added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers. Jonny Flynn scored 20 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost 12 in row and 18 of 19.

Hawks 93, Bobcats 92
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson sank a fallaway jump shot over three Charlotte defenders just before time expired for Atlanta.

Johnson returning after missing two games because of Achilles' tendinitis, had 18 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Josh Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 25 points, and Gerald Wallace had 20 points and 16 rebounds in his return from an ankle injury.

Celtics 94, Rockets 87
At Houston, Paul Pierce scored 26 points, and Ray Allen hit five 3-pointers and had 19 points as Boston snapped Houston's winning streak at fours games. Kevin Garnett added 15 points, and Rajon Rondo had 10 assists for the Celtics, who smothered high-scoring Houston point guard Aaron Brooks and held the Rockets to 39.5 percent shooting (30 of 76). Luis Scola and Kevin Martin scored 17 points apiece for the Rockets.

Thunder 115, Raptors 89
At Toronto, Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Jeff Green had 25 to lead Oklahoma City past Toronto for its sixth victory in seven games.

Russell Westbrook had 11 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, fifth in the Western Conference at 42-25. Chris Bosh led Toronto with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani had 15 points. The Raptors, eighth in the Eastern Conference, are 2-10 in their last 12 games and 33-34 overall.

Knicks 92, 76ers 88
At New York, Toney Douglas scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to rally short-handed New York past Philadelphia.

Douglas scored 13 straight Knicks points down the stretch, helping New York win despite missing starters David Lee (right knee tendinitis) and Wilson Chandler (sore left groin). Danilo Gallinari had 25 points for the Knicks, who returned from a five-game trip to beat the 76ers for the second time in five days. Elton Brand had 19 points for Philadelphia.

Spurs 147, Warriors 116
At San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 23 points as San Antonio had its highest total since Gregg Popovich took over as head coach in 1996.

Richard Jefferson had 21 points as the Spurs tore through the Warriors, whose defense was dreadful even by their NBA-worst standards. The Spurs shot 65 percent from the field and put up the most points against Golden State this season. Monta Ellis scored 39 points, and Corey Maggette had 30 for the Warriors.

T Blazers 76, Wizards 74
At Portland, Oregon, Brandon Roy hit a 22-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left to lift Portland over Washington. Roy, who averaged 27 points last week as the Western Conference player of the week, finished with 14 points to help the Blazers win their fifth straight. LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Mike Miller had 16 points for the Wizards, who have lost 10 straight.

Bucks 114, Kings 108
At Sacramento, California, rookie star Brandon Jennings scored 35 points, hit a career-high eight 3-pointers and added eight assists to lead Milwaukee past Sacramento. John Salmons had 27 points, and Andrew Bogut added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, Beno Udrih had 26 points and nine assists for the Kings, who have lost two straight and six of eight.

Pacers 106, Pistons 102
At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 29 points in his return from a cheek injury and Troy Murphy added 20 points as Indiana beat Detroit Indiana trailed only once all night, 95-94, before sealing the win with an 8-0 run. Detroit's Rodney Stuckey returned to action for the first time since collapsing on the bench during a game two weeks ago. He led the Pistons with 25 points.-AP