LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have fared well at home against the NBA's best. They just have to figure out a way to win against the rest of the league.


James scored 44 points to help Cleveland beat San Antonio 101-87 on Monday night, ending the Spurs' nine-game winning streak.


Cleveland is 14-2 at home against teams over .500, but 5-5 against sub-.500 teams. The win over the Spurs came two days after a lackluster home loss to Golden State.


``We have to grow up,'' James said. ``We can't keep beating Phoenix, Detroit and San Antonio and then lose to sub-par teams.''

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James led Cleveland with his sixth game over 40 points this season. He shot 19-for-33 and added five assists, three rebounds and four steals. James scored 18 in the third quarter, tying his career high for points in a period, and had 36 through three quarters.


In other games, it was: New Orleans 97, Washington 96; Memphis 81, Golden State 79; Dallas 100, New York 72; Portland 91, Charlotte 83; Toronto 98, Minnesota 94; and the Los Angeles Lakers 94, Utah 88.


Cleveland has reached the 30-win mark before the All-Star break for the second straight season.


At 30-21, the Cavaliers have the same record as last season after 51 games. They collapsed in the second half last year, going 12-19 and missing the playoffs by a game.


``We know the feeling of having 30 wins at the All-Star break and not making the playoffs,'' Gooden said. ``We don't want that to happen again.''


The Cavaliers had signed Larry Hughes to help avoid that same collapse, but he will have to have surgery for the second time in six weeks on his broken right middle finger.


The team did not say how long Hughes will be out.


Hughes, the team's second-leading scorer, was supposed to miss six to eight weeks after having surgery Jan. 6. However, doctors concluded last week that the finger hadn't healed as quickly as the team hoped.


Cleveland is 18-10 with him and only 12-11 with Hughes out of the lineup.



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