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James had 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, carrying the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers past the New York Knicks 119-105 on Wednesday night.

 The league's top scorer made 16-of-30 field goals, including seven-of-13 on three-pointers, but fell short of matching the season-high of 52 set by Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers against the Dallas Mavericks last Sunday.

  James was delighted to turn in such a sparkling effort at famed Madison Square Garden.

 "This ranks really high, just because of where it happened, in the Mecca of basketball," James said. "I have always dreamed of playing well here. It is one of the best things that has ever happened to me."

   Inspired by his performance, a teenage fan wearing a replica of James' No. 23 jersey made his way down to the bench to congratulate his hero in the final minute after the game had been decided.

 "It was a great feeling to get a fan to come down there to express the way he feels about you," James said. "It's like the most unbelievable thing that ever happened to me. He told me I was his favorite player."

   Jamal Crawford scored 25 points, Nate Robinson added 24 for the Knicks (18-43), who fell for the 15th time in the last 19 games, including the last four.

 "When you get a guy on the roll like that it's tough to overcome," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "LeBron was spectacular. From the three-point line, he was great also. I thought that was the difference tonight."

   Crawford's jumper had the Knicks within 99-98 with 4:28 remaining before James hit back to back threes to spark an 11-1 run, putting the Cavaliers up by seven. He added two more from behind the arc to complete the sweet dream.

 "Tonight, I just got that feeling and I did not want us to leave here without a win," James said. "We won and all my shots in the fourth quarter meant something."

   Elsewhere    Boston Celtics 90, Detroit Pistons 78    Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 31 points, Kendrick Perkins grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds as the league-best Celtics became the first team to make the playoffs with their sixth straight victory in a showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

 Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups scored 23 points for Central Division-leading Detroit (44-17) which was outscored 22-11 in the final frame.

 Boston coach Doc Rivers was unimpressed which only underlines that the Celtics have bigger aims: "That's not what we want. That's nice, but last year it would have been a parade."

   Houston Rockets 117, Indiana Pacers 99    Tracy McGrady scored 23 of his 25 points in the opening half as the hosting Rockets rolled to a franchise-record 16th consecutive victory - the NBA's longest streak of the season.

 Houston (40-20) won for the 20th time in the last 21 games, including the last four since losing Chinese superstar centre Yao Ming to a season-ending stress fracture in his left foot, to surpass their 15-game winning streak set in their NBA title season 1993/1994.

 New Orleans Hornets 116, Atlanta Hawks 101    Peja Stojakovic scored 29 points with seven of the Hornets' franchise- record-tying 15 three-pointers, and Chris Paul had 23 points with 18 assists en route to their fourth win in the last five games. Joe Johnson led the Hawks (24-35) with 24 points.

 Memphis Grizzlies 100, New Jersey Nets 93    Hakim Warrick tossed in a season-high 25 points, Mike Miller added 22 and the Grizzlies snapped their nine-game losing streak. Richard Jefferson led the visiting Nets (18-43) with 22 points while Devin Harris had 20 with 10 assists.

 Utah Jazz 105, Minnesota Timberwolves 76    Deron Williams had 21 points with 11 assists, Carlos Boozer added 16 points with 14 rebounds, leading the Jazz to their 17th consecutive home victory.

 Denver Nuggets 126, Phoenix Suns 113    Allen Iverson collected 31 points with 12 assists, Carmelo Anthony had 30 points with 13 rebounds and Nuggets pulled within a game of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points while Shaquille O'Neal had 12 and 18 rebounds for the Suns (40-21) who dropped to 3-5 since acquiring the All-Star centre last month.

 Toronto Raptors 108, Miami Heat 83    Rasho Nesterovic had 16 points with 10 rebounds and the visiting Raptors sent the league-worst Heat to their 29th loss in the last 32 games.

 Charlotte Bobcats 118, Golden State Warriors 109    Jason Richardson matched a franchise-record with 42 points against his former team and the Bobcats posted their first three-game winning streak of the season. Monta Ellis scored 32 points, Baron Davis had 30 for the visiting Warriors (37-23) whose four-game winning streak ended.

 Orlando Magic 122, Washington Wizards 92    Dwight Howard collected 20 points with 11 rebounds and the Magic's 40th win matched their entire total from last season.

 Milwaukee Bucks 118, Seattle SuperSonics 106    Charlie Villanueva scored a season-high 32 points with 11 rebounds, Andrew Bogut had 21 points and 13 boards, helping the Bucks break a three-game slide.

 LA Clippers 116, Sacramento Kings 109 (2 OT)    Al Thornton scored 13 of his 27 points in the overtime sessions, and the host Clippers rallied from a 17-point deficit to snap a six-game slide.

By Paul Levine, dpa