CLEVELAND — LeBron James had good buddy Jay-Z playing on his headphones upon meeting with the media prior to Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
“Music’s always been a big part of my life,” the Cavaliers small forward said. “I listen to all kinds.”
James rattled off hip-hop, R&B and alternative as his favorites, but said he had a little bit of “everything” on his iPod. When someone mentioned Barry Manilow, the 23-year-old was sure he had a few songs.
James continued to answer other questions while searching his iPod, then finally said, “No Brian Manilow.” When a public relations official told him the correct first name, he quickly added, “Oh, Barry. I was talking about his cousin.”
James then resumed his search and did indeed find three Manilow songs: “Mandy,” “Copacabana” and “I Am Your Child.”

More LeBron

James was extremely outgoing and chipper prior to the game, when he touched on a variety of subjects, including the Wednesday night fracas that involved Phoenix’s Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal and Houston’s Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady and Matt Barnes. It ended with the 330-pound O’Neal pushing McGrady, causing a small pileup of bodies near midcourt.
“He cleared the way a little bit,” James said. “He put his sheriff’s badge to use.”
James said he’s never been involved in a fight on the court — “I’ve wanted to, but I haven’t,” he said — but mentioned a high school incident with Brush’s Roy Hall and playoff incidents last season with Washington’s Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson as the closest he’s come to duking it out.
James also talked at length about Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, a close friend who showed up with a thin line shaved down the middle of his newly cropped hair. Since James and Anthony came into the league as the first and third picks, respectively, in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Nuggets had gone 8-2 against the Cavs prior to Thursday.
“He finds a way to mention that every now and then,” James said.

Lofty goal

Cavs point guard Mo Williams entered the Denver game fourth in the league in free throw percentage (.962, 25-of-26). His goal is to shoot 95 percent for the season and lead the league in that category. Toronto’s Jose Calderon (25-of-25), Houston’s Luis Scola (16-of-16) and Orlando’s Jameer Nelson (13-of-13) were all perfect going into Thursday.
Williams had made 24 straight prior to missing the first of two attempts Tuesday against Milwaukee. The Cavs finished with 99 points, one shy of the requirement for fans to receive a coupon for a free Taco Bell chalupa.
“I’m fully aware of the circumstances,” Williams said. “I’m mad I didn’t give the fans a chance to win that, but they should have been happy just like I was to win five in a row.”

James gang

Prior to Thursday, there had been five 40-point games in the NBA this season. Three were by James, who had scored 41 points in three of the last four games.
The last player to have three
40-point games in his team’s first eight games was Michael Jordan in 1991. James began the night averaging 29.8 points (1st in the NBA), 8.4 rebounds (tie 23rd) and 6.9 assists (7th).
The other 40-point efforts this season were by Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire (45) and San Antonio’s Tony Parker (55).

Boobie prize

Third-year guard Daniel “Boobie” Gibson entered Thursday shooting just .357 from the field, including .313 from beyond the arc. Subtract a 10-of-14 shooting night against Charlotte in the second game of the season, in which Gibson was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers, and those numbers drop to .268 (15-of-56) and .231 (6-of-26), respectively.
Gibson, who has one of the best shooting strokes in the league, also entered the Denver game just 6-of-12 at the line.
“My saying is always the same about Boobie: Shoot it, Boobie, shoot it,’” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “That’s all he has to do.”
Gibson spent much of the preseason working on getting to the basket, but had gone back to being mostly a 3-point specialist entering the Denver game.
“He’s had some pretty good looks,” Brown said. “He’s got to knock them down. Once he knocks a few down, then guys are going to start closing on him and he’s going to be able to get by them and finish at the rim.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.
 

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