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James, Bryant square off in battle of NBA's leading scorers

Dec 20, 2007 - 2:33 PM LA Lakers (15-9) at Cleveland (11-15) 8:00 pm EST

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- It's no surprise that LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are the top two scorers in the league. What is a bit more shocking is how each player's supporting cast has performed.

James looks to help his slumping Cleveland Cavaliers to a win Thursday when they host Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers.

A three-time All-Star, James has raised his level of play so far, averaging career highs nearly across the board.

However, the Cavaliers have stumbled for various reasons in large part due to a bench that has lacked the scoring punch needed from a championship contender - getting just 23.5 points - one of the five lowest in the NBA.

One of Cleveland's biggest downfalls so far has been a defense that has been unable to duplicate the success it experienced on their way to the NBA Finals last season, as the Cavaliers are allowing 101 points in this campaign after holding opponents to under 93 points per game in 2006-07.

Conversely, Bryant's scoring average has dropped nearly five points a game off of his league-leading 31.6 point-per-game average last season. However, the Lakers are scoring nearly four more points in this campaign en route to posting 107 points per game - good for the third-best in the NBA.

Los Angeles, winners of six of its past seven, and its bench have picked up where the Cavaliers' reserves have not. The Lakers are getting 38.3 points per game from their reserves, among the five best averages in the league.

James scored 32 points Wednesday but his teammates floundered in a 108-90 loss to the lowly New York Knicks.

A day earlier, Bryant scored 18 points in the Lakers' 103-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls.