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LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers beat Oklahoma City Thunder for sixth straight win

LeBron James scored 34 points with a full line and the rest of the Cavaliers' core shined in Cleveland's 108-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James netted at least 25 points for the seventh straight game and contributed seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks as Cleveland extended its season-long win streak to six games.

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Kevin Love got back on track in a big way on Sunday, tallying 19 points and 13 rebounds while hitting 5-of-7 from behind the arc, and Kyrie Irving scored 21 points.

Love had been 4-for-21 from 3-point range over his last six games.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both neared triple-doubles in the loss, but Westbrook's 7-for-26 shooting and just six combined points from starters Kendrick Perkins and Andre Roberson were too much for Oklahoma City to overcome.

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Durant posted 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds and Westbrook finished with 22 points, 11 assists and nine boards.

Dion Waiters, who spent the first two-plus seasons in Cleveland before a trade on Jan. 7 sent him to the Thunder, added 14 points on 5-of-15 off the bench in his return to Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland shot 6-for-21 in the first quarter and trailed 26-20 after one, but flipped the script with a dominant second period.

James scored seven points during a 10-2 push to open the period that put the Cavs in front. It was tied with 4:59 left in the half after Westbrook sank a pair of free throws, but consecutive treys by J.R. Smith and Irving and an Irving runner had Cleveland on top 46-38.

James' layup eight seconds before halftime gave him 22 first-half points and sent the Cavaliers into the break leading 57-49.

James only took one shot and didn't score in the third, but Love helped carry the load by connecting on all three of his tries from distance.

Oklahoma City briefly took the lead twice late in the frame on layups from Westbrook and Waiters, but a 16-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters helped Cleveland regain control. James capped the flurry with a deep 3-pointer right in front of Waiters that gave the Cavs a 91-80 lead with under 10 minutes left.

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The margin never dipped under eight down the stretch.

Game Notes

The Thunder had been 10-1 in their previous 11 games against the Eastern Conference ... Smith had 14 points and Tristan Thompson grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds off the bench for Cleveland.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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