Cleveland's Drew Gooden, right, is fouled by Miami's Shaquille O'Neal. Gooden scored 18 points and had nine rebounds, and the Cavaliers defeated the Heat, 96-82, on Tuesday in Miami.

Cavaliers 96, Heat 82

Cleveland – LeBron James winced as he pressed the ice bag tightly against his swollen jaw.

On Christmas, he felt lucky to still have his two front teeth.

“I got elbowed by Shaq in the face, which is not a good thing,” James said. “Ever.”

James shook off the big man’s blow to the head and scored 25 points, Drew Gooden had 18 and Cleveland’s defense arrived in time for the holiday, sparking the struggling Cavaliers past Miami.

James, who left Quicken Loans Arena in disgust following an embarrassing loss to Golden State on Sunday, added 12 assists and outshined fellow superstar and good friend Dwyane Wade, who scored 22 points but didn’t make his first field goal of the second half until there was only 4:01 remaining.

By then, the Cavaliers were already ahead by 12 points, and thanks to a defense that had gone AWOL for most of the season’s first two months, they rolled to just their fourth win in the last 14 games.

“When we play defense we’re a pretty good team,” James said. “When we don’t, we don’t look so well – simple as that. Today was a good step.”

Daniel Gibson scored 16 points, including six on consecutive three-pointers to open the fourth. Anderson Varejao scored 15 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 for Cleveland, which had one of its most balanced games this season – and its most lopsided win.

Wade finished 7-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-16 from the free-throw line for Miami (8-20), which began the season as one of the Eastern Conference’s favorites but is headed in the wrong direction.

Wade refused to blame a sore right shoulder for his shooting woes.

“I was just missing shots,” he said. “It wasn’t their defense, it was nothing they did special.”

Two years removed from an NBA championship, coach Pat Riley’s team doesn’t look like one ready for a title run.

Wade was asked if Miami’s current group of players is the right one.

“That’s not my job,” he said. “My job is to go out there and play. I don’t worry about the mix. That’s Coach’s job. He’s the president.”

Lakers 122, Suns 115

Los Angeles – Kobe Bryant asked to be traded last spring in part because he wanted to play for a team that could contend for a championship. He just might have gotten his wish by staying put. Bryant scored 26 of his 38 points in the second half, Andrew Bynum had a career-high 28 points to go with 12 rebounds and a season-high four assists, and the Lakers beat Phoenix for their ninth win in 11 games.

The victory lifted the Lakers (18-10) to a season-high eight games over .500 and within one game of the Pacific Division-leading Suns (19-9), who lost for the fifth time in eight games.

Bryant, who complained about a lack of talent around him, has gotten plenty of help recently, especially from the 20-year-old Bynum, who shot 11-of-13 in outplaying Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire.

Blazers 89, Sonics 79

Portland, Ore. – Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack each scored 17 points, and Portland extended its winning streak to 11 games. It is the longest current winning streak in the NBA, and the best run for the Blazers since they won 12 straight during the 2001-02 season.

Joel Przybilla had a season-high 16 rebounds, as well as six points, and the Blazers improved their record at the Rose Garden this season to 13-3.

After a close first half, Portland pulled away in the third quarter with a 16-2 run capped by Roy’s three-pointer that put the Blazers ahead 66-50.

Jack’s falling-down three-pointer from the corner made it 89-75 and sealed it for Portland with 2:11 left.

Portland won despite shooting 38.7 percent (36-of-93) from the floor.