CLEVELAND — LeBron James made the 3-point field goal that would have won the game, but it was a vicious boot to a trash can as he walked to the locker room at Quicken Loans Arena.
Up 18 points in the second quarter, the Cavaliers couldn’t get enough shots to fall down the stretch and lost 110-108 Friday night to the 3-point-happy Phoenix Suns.
Having had a number of shots from close range go in and out in the fourth quarter, James took out his frustrations with a Lawrence Tynes-like boot as he exited the tunnel that leads away from the playing floor.
“I’m a competitor,” James said after finishing with 36 points on 14-of-30 shooting, seven rebounds and five assists. “I just wanted to win. It was a great game. Both teams wanted to win. They made one more play.”
The Suns, who made an incredible 17-of-33 from beyond the arc, made that play when Steve Nash ran a pick-and-roll and passed to Boris Diaw, who drove and drew several defenders before kicking the ball to Shawn Marion, who was behind the arc in the left corner.
With a desperate Zydrunas Ilgauskas running at him, Marion pump-faked and hit a running one-hander from the baseline with 1.1 seconds on the clock. It was his only field goal of the night.
“We defended it fairly well,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “They made that last pass and that last drive. … When you move the basketball like that, you’re bound to get a pretty good look.”
Following a timeout, Damon Jones missed an off-balance 3-pointer and the Cavaliers (23-19), who had won 11 of their last 13, had their five-game winning streak come to an end.
It ended because James had several shots from point-blank range rim out in the fourth quarter, including one with 51 seconds left and the score tied at 106.
“Some of them seemed like they were down in the net and somebody punched the ball out,” the 23-year-old said.
Added Brown: “I thought they were in and I’m sure everybody else thought they were in. Somehow, someway, they seemed to kick out.”
The Cavaliers, who got 25 points, eight rebounds and no assists from point guard Larry Hughes and 21 points and 10 boards from Ilgauskas, also lost because they settled for too many jumpers in the second half. After tying their season high with 69 points in the first half, when they attempted 20 free throws, the Cavaliers scored just 39 points after intermission, when they went to the line just seven times.
Most of all, though, Cleveland lost because the Suns (31-13) were on fire. Steve Nash, who had 26 points, nine assists and seven turnovers, made 7-of-9 from long range, while Raja Bell had 27 points and made 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Toss in three trifectas by Leandro Barbosa, who hoisted up 10, and another by Diaw and the Suns made more 3-pointers than any opponent in Cavaliers history, topping the 16 by Milwaukee in a double-overtime game on Dec. 9, 2002. For the game, the Cavaliers were outscored 51-15 from beyond the arc.
“They were making threes and we were making twos,” said Hughes, who was 6-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 on 3-pointers, and 10-of-11 at the line.
The Cavaliers, who attempted 90 shots to just 67 for Phoenix, had only three turnovers in taking a 13-point halftime lead, but committed six in allowing the Suns right back in the game in the third period.
Sparked by Nash and Bell, Phoenix went on a 15-0 run to go up 80-76 with 4:49 to go in the third, but Cleveland regrouped and led 98-92 before going ice-cold down the stretch.
On the rare occasions when they did get the ball inside — Ilgauskas was once again a forgotten man down the stretch — the Cavaliers missed. On too many others, they stood around, pounded the basketball and missed a hurried jumper with the shot clock about to go off.
Despite all that, James tied the game at 108 on a driving layup with 22.5 seconds to go, setting the stage for Marion’s winner.
“It happens like that sometimes, I guess,” said Marion, who was 1-of-4 from the field. “I don’t know if it was meant to be, but we got a good win and that’s what it boils down to.”
While James, Hughes and Ilgauskas combined for 82 points, Cleveland’s other two starters, Drew Gooden and Ira Newble, combined for zero. Phoenix was just as unbalanced. Bell, Nash and Amare Stoudemire (22 points) combined for 75 points, but starting forwards Marion and Grant Hill, who suffered back spasms and played just four minutes, totaled eight between them.
“I think the obvious statement is that it was a heck of a basketball game,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Obviously, I’m happy because we won, but it was a good game. We battled back and (the Cavaliers) were terrific, especially in the first half.”
With Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia in attendance, James (24) and Ilgauskas (17) combined for 41 points as the Cavaliers took a 69-56 lead at intermission.
Cleveland stormed out of the gate, going up 12 late in a first period where James (17) and Ilgauskas (11) combined for 28 of the team’s 34 points. It was the second straight game that duo scored 28 points in the opening period.
Phoenix, however, made seven of its first 10 3-point attempts to get within 38-37 early in the second period, only to have the Cavaliers push their lead back to 66-48 on a James three-point play with 1:23 left.
The Cavaliers could not sustain their offensive play, however, and the Suns made them pay.
“Being a competitor, you always want to win ballgames like this,” James said. “We gave our best effort. We played hard. We had a few mistakes we could have cleaned up, but we played hard. I can’t fault anybody on our team.”
Contact Rick Noland at rickn@ohio.net or (330) 721-4061.

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