PORTLAND, Ore. — It is not good to make LeBron James angry.
Frustrated by a couple of blocked shots, James took over against the Portland Trail Blazers and made a reverse layup with less than a second left to give the Cleveland Cavaliers an 84-83 victory Wednesday night.
James scored 17 points in the fourth quarter — two more than the entire Portland team. Teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas said James became frustrated when he was blocked twice by Blazers center Joel Przybilla.
“LeBron came down the court and he was really angry at himself. And then he took over,” Ilgauskas said. “I don’t think he missed the rest of the game.”
Portland led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the Cavaliers closed in as time ran down. James, who had 37 points and 14 rebounds, hit three consecutive 3-pointers to tie it at 81 with 2:26 left.
Travis Outlaw’s jumper put the Blazers back in front, and they still held a narrow lead when Drew Gooden missed one of two free throws.
Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, but Portland was able to stop Cleveland on the other end.
Brandon Roy ran down the clock, then missed a pressured 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds remaining. James’ layup with 0.9 seconds left gave Cleveland its only lead of the half and the victory.
“I just wanted to take every possession like it was our last and be aggressive,” James said. “I don’t know when the turning point happened, but we were able to ride the wave and get a win.”
The Cavaliers have won 13 of their last 16 games. They have won five straight road games for the first time since March 17-April 1, 1998.
Cleveland got a brief scare midway through the fourth quarter when James inadvertently collided with Portland guard Sergio Rodriguez. James grimaced and grasped at his left pinkie finger, but appeared fine after a timeout and earned his 13th double-double of the season.
Roy had 16 points and eight assists for the Blazers, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and nine rebounds. Portland’s 35.3 percent shooting was a season low.
“We stepped up too late,” Roy said of James’ game-winner. “Once he got to into the paint we didn’t want to foul him so a couple of guys shied away. We’ve got to force him into a jump shot in that situation.”
The Blazers have only lost five of 23 home games this season.
Cleveland was coming off Sunday’s 98-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. James scored 41 points in that game, when the Cavaliers lost forward Anderson Varejao to a left ankle sprain.
The Cavaliers were already without starting guard Sasha Pavlovic for at least six weeks with a left mid-foot sprain.
The Blazers were coming off a dramatic, 94-93 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Portland came back from a 19-point deficit to win on Roy’s free throw with 2.3 seconds left.
The Cavaliers led 13-6 early on James’ dunk, but the Blazers ran off the next 10 points to go up 16-13, capped by Martell Webster’s 3-pointer.
The Blazers extended the lead to 29-17 after Jarrett Jack made a pair of free throws. Cleveland came back to close within 33-31 on Devin Brown’s running jumper.
The Blazers held on to the lead, going up 48-38 after James was called for an offensive foul and coach Mike Brown was levied a technical foul for protesting it.
Portland led 48-42 at the break.
The Blazers built on the lead in the third quarter. Aldridge’s layup made it 66-52 for Portland.
But the Cavaliers are known for their comebacks. They have 10 wins when they trail to start the fourth quarter, most in the NBA.
“We know the game is not over until there are zeros on the clock,” James said.

CAVS NOTES

Varejao could miss 15 games

INDEPENDENCE — While LeBron James is openly campaigning for the Cavaliers to trade for disgruntled New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd, Cleveland will have to make do without backup power forward Anderson Varejao for the next three to four weeks.
Varejao was evaluated by team physician Dr. Richard Parker late Tuesday at Cleveland Clinic Courts, with the Cavaliers announcing Wednesday that the Brazilian has a left ankle sprain with bone bruises.
Varejao, who suffered the injury in the third quarter Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, could be out as long as a month, which means he would miss approximately 15 games.
Varejao will remain in Cleveland to continue his rehabilitation process while the Cavaliers try to make do with Donyell Marshall, Dwayne Jones and Cedric Simmons backing up big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden.
Meanwhile, general manager Danny Ferry will continue to explore trade options prior to the Feb. 21 deadline.
James, who became good friends with Kidd while playing for USA Basketball over the summer, has made it known he would love to play with the veteran point guard. But acquiring Kidd is a long shot at best.
The Cavaliers could put together some type of package deal involving Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson and Gooden, but that would leave them dangerously thin on the front line unless they also get a big man in return. Cleveland can’t trade Varejao prior to the deadline because it has not been 90 days since he signed his contract.
The crumbling Nets are also talking to Dallas, Denver and the Lakers. Most of those teams not only have more to offer, but they also play in the Western Conference, meaning New Jersey would not be running the risk of improving a team in its own conference.
In all likelihood, Ferry realizes this, but is still doing his job by at least exploring possibilities with New Jersey. If nothing else, that effort should make James and Cleveland fans happy.
Other point guards that might interest the Cavaliers include Sacramento’s Mike Bibby, Philadelphia’s Andre Miller and Seattle’s Earl Watson and Delonte West.

No sophomore jinx

Gibson was named to the sophomore team for the 2008.
T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, to be held Feb. 15 as part of All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. Prior to Wednesday, Gibson had played in 41 games (26 starts) this season and was averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He ranked fifth in the NBA in 3-point percentage (.468) and was tied for 10th in 3-pointers made (95).
“I never really think too much about individual achievements, but to work so hard in the summer to improve and then to be given this opportunity to play on the sophomore team is very rewarding,” Gibson said. “I am very grateful.”

– Rick Noland
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

Cavs 84, Blazers 83

CLEVELAND (84): James 13-29 8-12 37, Gooden 4-8 1-2 9, Ilgauskas 3-9 1-2 7, Hughes 2-11 4-6 8, Newble 0-1 0-0 0, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0, Gibson 3-7 0-0 8, D.Brown 2-6 1-2 5, Da.Jones 2-3 0-0 6, Dw.Jones 0-0 4-4 4. Totals 29-74 19-28 84.
PORTLAND (83): Webster 3-9 0-0 7, Aldridge 6-13 4-6 16, Przybilla 3-3 3-4 9, Blake 4-11 0-0 10, Roy 7-16 2-3 16, Frye 2-6 3-3 7, Jack 0-6 3-3 3, Rodriguez 0-6 0-0 0, Outlaw 4-10 5-6 13, J.Jones 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 30-85 20-25 83.
Cleveland    20    22    20    22    —    84
Portland    29    19    20    15    —    83
3-Point Goals—Cleveland 7-14 (James 3-6, Gibson 2-3, Da.Jones 2-3, Hughes 0-2), Portland 3-14 (Blake 2-6, Webster 1-2, J.Jones 0-1, Roy 0-1, Rodriguez 0-1, Outlaw 0-1, Jack 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Cleveland 59 (James 14), Portland 55 (Przybilla, Aldridge 9). Assists—Cleveland 13 (James 4), Portland 18 (Roy 8). Total Fouls—Cleveland 19, Portland 20. Technicals—Cleveland Coach Brown. A—20,501 (19,980).

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