Cleveland — Lamond Murray had the perfect opponent to inspire him after being sidelined for three games because of a strained lower back.
Murray, raised in the Bay Area, scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 113-98 triumph over his "hometown" Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Golden State's Marc Jackson, left, loses the basketball as he is fouled by Cleveland's Lamond Murray. The Cavaliers defeated the Warriors, 113-98, Wednesday night in Cleveland.
He raised his right hand in triumph after hitting a 17-foot jumper with 3:36 to play for the career high and a 105-86 lead.
"I knew I had it," Murray said. "They put on the board how many you've got, so I knew. Any time you can come out and get a career-high and win the game, it's fun."
Murray shot 16-of-23 from the field, mostly on jumpers. Sidelined since Dec. 22, Murray made six of eight shots in the first quarter for 15 points to spark Cleveland to a 31-16 advantage.
"We had no answer for him," Warriors coach Brian Winters said. "He just came off screens and got open."
Antawn Jamison scored 24 points to lead Golden State, which went scoreless over the first 5:34 of the fourth quarter.
"Towards the end, it was ridiculous to come back," Jamison said. "One hundred and 13 points, that's hard to swallow."
A three-pointer by Murray with 6:34 left in the final quarter capped a 23-4 run that gave Cleveland a 95-78 lead.
Before the game, Cavs coach John Lucas said that Murray was "about 75 percent," but would play for the first time since being injured against Indiana.
"Sometimes when you are a little hurt you play better because you're not pressing it," Murray said.
76ers 102, Suns 81
Phoenix Allen Iverson scored 29 points and the 76ers used a 36-point third quarter to rout Phoenixt. The Sixers, playing without Derrick Coleman, defeated a Western Conference team for just the third time in 15 tries this season. They are 2-3 with two stops left on their seven-game trip through the West. Coleman was serving a one- ame suspension for throwing a punch at Utah's Karl Malone.
Spurs 97, Pistons 85
San Antonio Tim Duncan scored 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio over Detroit. San Antonio won its second straight as five players scored in double figures.
Raptors 95, Trail Blazers 84
Portland, Ore. Vince Carter scored 28 points as Toronto built a 20-point third-quarter lead and held on to beat Portland, handing the Blazers their sixth straight loss.
Kings 105, Clippers 91
Sacramento, Calif. Chris Webber had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as Sacramento won its fifth straight game. All five Sacramento starters and Scot Pollard scored in double figures (11) as the Kings improved to an NBA-best 18-1 at home.
Lakers 87, Nuggets 86
Denver Kobe Bryant scored 28 points, including a 20-footer that barely beat the shot clock with 55 seconds left, and Los Angeles defeated Denver. Rick Fox had 17 points for the Lakers.
Mavericks 107, Bulls 97
Chicago Steve Nash had 24 points and 11 assists and Dirk Nowitzki scored all 18 of his points in the second half to lead Dallas to its 10th straight win.
Celtics 110, Magic 94
Boston Kenny Anderson scored all of his season-high 19 points in the first half as Boston beat Orlando and won its seventh consecutive home game.
Nets 92, Grizzlies 74
East Rutherford, N.J. Jason Kidd had 14 assists in 26 minutes and New Jersey held Memphis to a season-low seven points in the second quarter. Aaron Williams came off the bench to score a season-high 20 points.
Timberwolves 95, Bucks 77
Minneapolis Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 19 rebounds and Anthony Peeler added 18 points as Minnesota beat Milwaukee. Both teams' rosters were depleted by injuries. The Bucks' top three scorers Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen and Sam Cassell all missed the game, as did Joe Smith and Terrell Brandon of the Wolves.
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