East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - LeBron James recorded game-bests of 30 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help Cleveland tie a franchise record for wins in a season with a 96-88 victory over New Jersey.
The victory moved the Cavs to 57-13 on the year and gave them a 4 1/2-game lead over the Boston Celtics in the race for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland also won 57 games in the 1988-89 and 1991-92 seasons.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 18 points and four blocks for the Cavs, who have won nine straight games. Anderson Varejao chipped in 16 points and 11 boards in the win.
Vince Carter had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who saw their two- game winning streak halted and moved to 2-5 over their last seven games. Keyon Dooling totaled 19 points and Brook Lopez 16 for New Jersey, which fell to two games behind Chicago for the eighth playoff spot in the East.
The Cavs were up 27-21 after the first quarter, and an 8-0 run helped Cleveland take a 48-38 lead at the intermission. James had six of the points in the surge, including an emphatic dunk with just under four minutes left.
Ilgauskas' long-range jumper closed out an 11-2 run the Cavs used to open the third quarter. Ilgauskas finished with six points on the surge, which gave the visitors a 59-40 lead with 7:45 left in the stanza.
The teams traded baskets, and eventually it was 71-55 in favor of the Cavs heading into the fourth frame.
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The Nets trailed by 15 early in the fourth, when Bobby Simmons hit a pair of free throws and Carter nailed a jumper to spark an 8-1 Nets run. Carter also had a layup and Trenton Hassell closed it out with two free throws to make it 75-67 with 7:44 left to play.
New Jersey failed to get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
