LBJ’s Triple-Double Pushes Cleveland Past Toronto 111-108

LeBron James had his 13th triple-double of his career, and third of this season as he led the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Toronto Raptors?111-108 Saturday. The win came in spite of a monster performance by Raptors forward Chris Bosh who scored a game high 41 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Toronto got off to an early lead in a rare Saturday afternoon contest at?Cleveland’s Q Arena. The Raptors led 30-21 at the end of the first quarter, and although the?Cavaliers had cut?into the lead, they still trailed 56-52 at the halfway point. Cleveland started raining treys in the second half 9 in total and?6 three pointers in the third quarter as they ended the period deadlocked at 81-81.

The?Cleveland?Cavaliers are?not?as strong a team at this juncture od the campaign as they were at the same time last year. They?lack anything resembling a legitimate point guard, with the only man on the roster that fits that description is currently inactive. Eric Snow whose best days are far behind him is injured, so Cleveland has no true point guard. They are also without, the incredibly talented, but the extremely fragile?Larry Hughes. Hughes who has never come close to playing a NBA season injury free is out with a leg contusion. They are without veteran big man Donyell Marshall, who brings leadership to the floor and the clubhouse because he also is hurt. ?And they are without their “Energizer Rabbit” Anderson Varejao who right now is in a standoff with Cleveland over a contract that is not doing either side any good.

But they still have the “X-FACTOR” AKA LeBron James, one of the five best players in the NBA in 2007. The only thing that exceeds LBJ’s talent, is his will to win; it his reason for being. Saturday was a perfect example as he scored 6 of his team high 37 points in the game’s to put this game away. James also had 12 boards and 12 assists, 3 steals, and one blocked shot as trhe?in pushed Cleveland back over the .500 mark.??Daniel Gibson, scored 17 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds.?Damon Jones? finally looks like he is comfortable?in his role in Cleveland had 17 points,?shooting 6-010 from the field and 5-9 from outside the arc. And Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points, and a game high 15 rebounds.

Other than Bosh with his 41 points only two other?Toronto players were in double figures. Outside shooting specialist and former Cleveland draft choice Jason Kapono had 17 points off the bench as he shot 7-11 from the field and 3-6 from three point range. Andrea Bargnani had 14 points and 5 boards in the loss. Cleveland with the win is now 7-6, while?Toronto falls to 6-7.