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Cavaliers hope to have James vs. Kings

Jan 4, 2008 - 1:55 PM Sacramento (12-18) at Cleveland (15-17) 7:30 pm EST

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing well of late thanks to superstar LeBron James.

James hopes to shake off a nagging toe injury and be on the floor when the Cavaliers host the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

James missed practice with the injured big toe on Thursday, but expects to be ready for Friday along with forward Drew Gooden, who sat out Thursday's practice due to flu-like symptoms.

After suffering through a six-game losing streak and a 1-8 stretch from the end of November through the middle of December, Cleveland has picked up the pace and is beginning to resemble the team that represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals last season.

Tha Cavaliers have won five of their last eight games, including impressive victories against the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. James has led the team in scoring in each of the last eight games and has topped the club in assists in the last seven contests.

James scored 36 points - his highest total since November 27 - and dished out six assists in a 98-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The All-Star swingman leads the NBA in scoring at 29.1 points per game.

The Kings, who snapped a five-game losing streak with a 107-97 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday, have yielded 26.7 points per contest to James in seven career matchups.

Sacramento has been hammered by injuries of late and will face Cleveland without the services of point guard Mike Bibby, top scorer Kevin Martin, and defensive stalwart Ron Artest.

The Cavaliers beat the Kings on November 11, 93-91, despite 32 points from Martin. James poured in 26 during the early-season win.