Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James ends up falling into the lap of a person sitting courtside after hitting a shot over Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler late in the second half of Wednesday in Denver. (AP)DENVER (AP) – LeBron James scored 39 points, including nine down the stretch, and dished out 10 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 113-108 on Wednesday night after squandering a 16-point lead.
James made one off-balanced shot after another in the waning minutes to turn back the Nuggets, who didn't take their first lead of the game until 8:35 remaining on a driving layup by Mason Plumlee. Jeff Green gave Cleveland the lead for good with a 3-pointer on a play set up by James after he tapped a loose ball out to him.
It was that kind of night for James. He made a deep 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining, thumping himself in the chest in exuberance as he skipped down the court.
James wound up two rebounds shy of a triple-double as the Cavs began a six-game trip in fine fashion.
Larry Nance Jr. once again was in the starting lineup with big men Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson sidelined by with injuries. Nance scored 13 points and grabbed 13 boards.
James was fueled in part by a 126-117 home loss to Denver last Saturday. He said in the morning shootaround: "You always want to try to give some giveback. That's the competitive nature."