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James, Cavs look to build on success vs. Nets

Dec 14, 2007 - 3:45 PM Cleveland (10-12) at New Jersey (9-13) 8:00 pm EST

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) - Superstar LeBron James looks to return to the starting lineup as the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the New Jersey Nets.

James came back after spending the last five games in street clothes with a sprained left index fingers to help the Cavs end their six-game slide with Tuesday's 118-105 victory over Indiana.

"That was one and done for me," James said about coming off the bench for the first time in his career. "I will not be coming off the bench anymore."

Wearing a protective padded glove on his hand, James scored 17 points in 22 minutes. The 23-year-old All-Star leads the league in scoring at 29.9 points.

Cleveland big man Anderson Varejao made his season debut in the win after ending his contract holdout a week ago by inking a three-year, $17 million deal.

The Nets dropped their fourth straight game with Tuesday's 91-82 setback at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers despite another triple-double by Jason Kidd.

"This is a veteran ballclub and we've just got to stay together. Fits have already been thrown," Kidd said. "We're trying to find a way, trying to find anything to get us going in the right direction."

New Jersey might enjoy facing Cleveland, which has lost the past three meetings - including an impressive 100-79 defeat earlier this month.