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James, Cavaliers hold off Bobcats

Dec 14, 2006 - 2:58 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- LeBron James wanted to show his teammates that he could rebound from a poor performance.

James had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers posted a 104-101 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Anderson Varejao had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Drew Gooden added 16 points for Cleveland, which improved to 10-2 at home this season.

"We always feel comfortable at home," James said. "That's not our problem. We have to find a way to win on the road and once we do that, we're going to be a pretty good team."

Larry Hughes also had 16 points, and his steal with 28 seconds left was a key play in the waning moments for the Cavaliers, who beat the Bobcats for the eighth time in the last nine meetings.

"Larry was is one of the top two-guards in the league in my opinion," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "When it gets tight, especially at the end of ballgames, and we have a tendency to get off kilter, he's the guy that is calm, cool and collective no matter what the score is or how much time is on the clock."

With Cleveland leading, 98-96, Hughes made a steal off a pass from Charlotte's Sean May to preserve its tenuous lead. Hughes then made two free throws to put Cleveland up four.

"Defensively he made just a huge play, and then knocked down clutch free throws," Brown said.

"We needed that," James added. "That's why Larry is important to our team. He makes big plays at big times. It was a great steal."

After Matt Carroll made a jumper with 18 seconds left to cut Charlotte's deficit to 100-98, the Cavaliers received a big play from their superstar.

James, who was coming off a season low-tying 15 points, took a high pass from Hughes, saved it inbounds and found Varejao under the basket for an easy dunk with nine seconds left.

"The ball was out of bounds in the air, but I was able to save it before it hit the hardwood," James said. "We made big plays and got the win"

James made two free throws with three ticks left to ice the win for Cleveland, which shot 48 percent (36-of-75) from the field.

Rookie Adam Morrison scored 16 points and May added 15 and 13 rebounds for the Bobcats, who shot 47 percent (41-of-88) in their fourth straight loss.

"We put on a good showing, but man we'd like to have had this game," May said.