James carries Cavs past Dallas and into playoffs

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their sixth consecutive outing. Donyell Marshall chipped in with 12 points off the bench in the win.

Dirk Nowitzki tallied 29 points for the Mavericks, who have lost two consecutive games and fell 1 1/2 games behind San Antonio for first place in the Southwest Division and the Western Conference. Jerry Stackhouse recorded 23 points while Jason Terry had 17 in the loss.

James scored 19 of his 46 points in the decisive third quarter when the Cavaliers outscored Dallas 35-16 and grabbed control of the game.

The Cavs began the frame by scoring the first nine points to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead, 57-49. Drew Gooden finished the burst, a little over two minutes into the frame, with a three-point play.

Cleveland continued to build its cushion from there. James’ triple, with a little over six minutes remaining in the quarter, gave the Cavs a 13-point advantage, 68-55.

He then finished the quarter with a three-point play to make the score 83-65 heading into the final frame.

James’ continued his dominance into the fourth quarter. Twenty seconds into the stanza, the All-Star electrified the crowd with a driving lay-in to give Cleveland its first 20-point lead, 85-65.

The Mavericks managed to close the gap to within 13, after a pair of Darrel Armstrong free throws with 1:16 left, but Dallas never seriously threatened down the stretch as the Cavs coasted to victory.

The Mavericks took a slim 24-22 edge after the first 12 minutes of the game and continued to hold a slim advantage, 49-48, into intermission. Stackhouse had 17 points at the half to pace the Mavericks while James netted 15 for the Cavs.

Game Notes

With his 46 points, James became the youngest player in NBA history to surpass the 6,000-point plateau...This was the 43rd time this season James has netted 30-plus points and the ninth time he has scored 40 or more...The Cavs have won seven in a row at home and are 27-10 in Cleveland this season.