Los Angeles - With the game in the balance, LeBron James put the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back and carried them across the finish line.
"King James" erupted in the final six minutes for 11 of his 29 points, along with 11 rebounds and seven assists on Friday night, as the visiting Cavaliers pulled away to send the injury-ravaged Chicago Bulls to their 10th straight loss, 92-85.
In taking the league-best Cavaliers (55-15) to their 12th win in the last 13 games, James passed LA Lakers Kobe Bryant as the youngest player (25 years, 79 days) in
NBA history to score 15,000 points.
"I was born with a God-given gift and ability," James said. "I'm just taking advantage of that and thankful for being in this position."
Mo Williams scored 18 points for Cleveland which improved to an NBA best 25-11 on the road.
The Bulls gave the Cavs a run despite missing top scorers Derrick Rose (right wrist sprain), Luol Deng (calf injury) and Joakim Noah (left foot plantar fasciitis).
They led 77-76 with 6:11 remaining before James took charge, having a hand in all his team's points in a game-sealing 14-2 run.
The reigning most valuable league player showed his repertoire, burying three jumpers, converting an old-fashioned three-point play, sinking two free throws and assisting on Anthony Parker's triple, putting the Cavs' ahead, 90-80 with 50.4 ticks remaining.
"With another year under my belt, I'm feeling the confidence knowing what I can do to close games out, how to close games out," James said. "I never get rattled; I never get shook no matter if we are down one or up two, no matter whatever the case may be."
Taj Gibson had 20 points with 13 rebounds, James Johnson added 16 for the Bulls (31-37) whose slide matches their worst since November 2001.
"It's frustrating, our guys battled," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "The team played decent defense against LeBron and then he took over at the end."
Elsewhere:
Phoenix Suns 110,
Utah Jazz 100
Amare Stoudemire poured in a season-high 44 points, and the host Suns (43-26) won for the 11th time in 14 games to move within a game of the Jazz for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Carlos Boozer led Utah (44-25) with 23 points and 16 rebounds.
San Antonio Spurs 147, Golden State Warriors 116
Argentine ace Manu Ginobili had 23 points and 11 assists, and the host Spurs (41-26) routed the visiting Warriors with their highest total since 1996.
Monta Ellis topped Golden State (19-49) with 39 points.
LA Lakers 104, Minnesota Timberwolves 96
Kobe Bryant had 22 points with a season-high 13 assists, Spanish-born Pau Gasol added 17 points with 14 rebounds and the Lakers sent the visiting Timberwolves (14-56) to their 12h straight loss.
The defending NBA Champions (51-18) won their fifth in a row, but lost centre Andrew Bynum to a left achilles' strain in the third period
Atlanta Hawks 93, Charlotte Bobcats 92 (OT)
Joe Johnson scored 16 of his 18 points in the final quarter and overtime, including the game-winning jumper at the buzzer, lifting the host Hawks (44-24) over the Bobcats.
Raymond Felton scored 25 points for Charlotte (35-33) while Gerald Wallace had 20 with 16 rebounds after sitting out three games with an ankle injury.
Boston Celtics 94,
Houston Rockets 87
Paul Pierce scored 26 points, Ray Allen added 19 with five threes as the visiting Celtics (44-24) snapped the Rockets' (35-32) four-game winning streak.
Oklahoma City Thunder 115, Toronto Raptors 89
Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Jeff Green added 25 and the visiting Thunder (42-25) rolled the Raptors (33-34) for their ninth win in the last 11 games.
New York Knicks 92, Philadelphia 76ers 88
Italy's Danilo Gallinari scored 25 points, Toney Douglas had 14 of his 22 in the final quarter, and the Knicks (25-44) overcame the absence of injured starters David Lee and Wilson Chandler to hand the visiting Sixers (24-45) their sixth loss the last seven contests.
Indiana Pacers 106, Detroit Pistons 102
Danny Granger returned from a cheek injury with 29 points, Troy Murphy had 20 and the host Pacers (23-46) closed on an 8-0 run to spoil Rodney Stuckey's return.
Stuckey led Detroit (23-46) with 25 points after missing six games after collapsing on the bench two weeks ago.
Portland Trail Blazers 76,
Washington Wizards 74
Brandon Roy, who had missed his previous 13 shots, nailed a 22-foot (6.7-metre) jumper with five-tenths of a second left, lifting the Blazers (42-28) to their fifth straight win while sending the visiting Wizards (21-46) to their 10th consecutive loss.
Milwaukee Bucks 114, Sacramento Kings 108 (2 OT)
Brandon Jennings had 35 points, with a career-best eight threes, John Salmons added 27, including the game-sealing 17-footer (5.2-metre) with 35 seconds left in the second overtime as the visiting Bucks (37-30) won for the 13th time in the last 15 games.
Slovenian Beno Udrih netted 26 points for Sacramento (23-46) which lost its leading scorer, Tyreke Evans to a possible concussion after taking Ersan Ilyasova's elbow in the mouth late in regulation.
