CLEVELAND (AP) Everything has come so easy for LeBron James _ except for the victories.

After just two months in the NBA, Cleveland's sensational rookie has been better than advertised, posting impressive statistics and assuming leadership of his team.

Now the teenager wants to turn the Cavaliers into winners.

After going 102-6 during his celebrated high school career in Akron, James is off to a 10-22 start as a pro.

Don't think his confidence is diminished at all, though.

``It's disappointing,'' James said recently. ``But it's a long season, and I still think we can make a run at the playoffs.''

Cleveland's No. 1 overall draft pick survived scandals in high school, signed a $90 million deal with Nike and brought hope to a championship-starved city. And his play on the court so far has been worthy of the endless attention and adulation.

``He's kind of amazing,'' Cavs coach Paul Silas said. ``I knew he was good. I didn't know he was this good.''

Just how good?

James _ who turned 19 on Tuesday _ is currently the only player in the league averaging more than 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. In 15 games in December, he averaged 23.3 points and scored more than 30 points five times.

No player in NBA history, not Michael, not Wilt, not Kareem, not Kobe or Shaq has been this good, this soon.

Already, James has modified and improved his game, showing the naysayers he can indeed shoot. And as he stuffs the stat sheet each night, James raises the bar for the future high school-to-NBA jumpers while dispelling the myth that he's simply the product of Madison Avenue hyperbole.

``In a two-month period, he's a legitimate blossoming icon in this game,'' said Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who has faced James three times this season. ``I'm amazed. I felt bad for the kid coming in because I wasn't sure any kid could ever live up to it. He's making that thought seem ridiculous now.''

James remains unimpressed by his fast start as a pro.

``Statistics don't matter to me,'' he said. ``I'm never satisfied with my game. I'm not disappointed with anything about my game. I just try to go out and play, and what happens, happens.''

Too often, what happens is that the Cavaliers lose.

Cleveland has just four more victories than it had at the same point last season on the way to a 17-65 finish. The Cavs dropped their first 13 games away from Gund Arena this season before finally ending a 34-game road losing streak.

But unlike a year ago, when the young Cavs (five players have no college experience) routinely fell behind early and packed it in under coach John Lucas, these Cavaliers fight to the finish for Silas.

Of Cleveland's losses, 16 have been by 10 points or fewer.

Slowly, the Cavs are learning to win. They're beginning to understand that each possession is priceless and not to be wasted.

But a loss is a loss, and right now, James feels the sting of each one.

There's hope, however. Since the Dec. 16 trade that sent Ricky Davis and others to Boston for Eric Williams, Tony Battie and Kedrick Brown, the Cavs are 4-4.

They'll get another boost when DaJuan Wagner and DeSagana Diop, former first-round picks, return from knee operations next week.

``We're not there yet,'' Silas said. ``But we're getting there. Take a look at us in mid-January.''

James has been a different player since the trade. With Davis gone, he has averaged 26.7 points. Also, urged by Silas to be more aggressive, the 6-foot-8 James is taking advantage of smaller guards and driving to the basket more frequently.

A bigger change is that James is having fun again. He wasn't himself with Davis around, perhaps because he didn't want to appear selfish.

Now the smile is back, and James is playing with the boundless joy that led to comparisons with Magic Johnson. He is leading, and the Cavs are following.

``It's earlier than I expected,'' James said, referring to his leadership role. ``But I knew it was going to come sometime. I've been playing this game long enough to know what I need to do.''

The only thing wrapped up for LeBron James' birthday was James himself.

A year after receiving a Hummer for his 18th birthday, James had a bummer of a night as he turned 19. Artest locked him up in the second half as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 92-89 on Tuesday night.

``The guy is tough, but I think anybody can be stopped if you turn up your defense,'' said Artest, whose in-your-face defense against James down the stretch helped the Pacers become the first team in the league with 23 wins.

Artest scored 18 points, none bigger than his 3 with 54.6 seconds left, and Jermaine O'Neal had 21.

Elsewhere, New York routed Miami 102-73, Dallas defeated Milwaukee 101-92, Seattle topped Memphis 105-99, Minnesota beat Chicago 98-93, Toronto downed Denver 81-74 and Atlanta defeated Washington 83-73.

James finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes but couldn't shake free in the fourth quarter. Cavs coach Paul Silas felt his talented rookie was intimidated.

``Artest is going to test anyone. He's grabbing and holding, and they're letting him get away with it,'' Silas said. ``But LeBron has got to push him off, stand up to him and get in his face, and say, `If you do it again, we're going to war.' LeBron is not there yet.''

James, who came in averaging 27.8 points in his last 10 games, was just 3-for-12 from the field after a 6-for-8 first quarter. He missed all four of his 3-pointers.

The Cavaliers lost their third straight to Indiana this season in part because of 18 turnovers and 10 missed free throws _ six in the fourth quarter. The Pacers have beaten the Cavaliers 11 straight times at Gund Arena and eight in a row overall.

``I love playing physical. But this is one team we can't get over the hump on,'' James said.

Knicks 102, Heat 73

At New York, Keith Van Horn had a steal and buzzer-beating dunk to cap a dominant first quarter, and the Knicks cruised the rest of the way.

New York won its fourth in a row, all the victories coming in convincing fashion. The last three victories have all been by at least 20 points, the first time New York has done that since November, 1997.

Van Horn scored 22 points, shooting 10-for-16 from the field in breaking 20 for the fifth time in six games. Shandon Anderson came off the bench to add 21.

Before the game, the Knicks acquired point guard Moochie Norris and center John Amaechi from Houston for forward Clarence Weatherspoon.

Lamar Odom led Miami with 19 points.

Mavericks 101, Bucks 92

At Dallas, Antoine Walker had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki made two key fourth-quarter 3-pointers to help Dallas withstand a late rally.

Steve Nash added 14 points and 12 assists, Antawn Jamison came off the bench to score 17, and Nowitzki had 20 points and 11 rebounds to help Dallas to its third straight win. The Mavericks improved to 14-2 at home.

Michael Redd led the Bucks with 25 points.

SuperSonics 105, Grizzlies 99

At Memphis, Rashard Lewis scored 33 points and Ray Allen had nine in the final three minutes.

Lewis and Allen scored Seattle's final 15 points as the SuperSonics pulled away late. Allen finished with 22 points, playing in his fourth game of the season after right ankle surgery.

The Grizzlies have lost seven straight, matching their longest losing streak under second-year coach Hubie Brown.

Timberwolves 98, Bulls 93

At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 15 rebounds to lead Minnesota to its eighth victory in nine games.

Latrell Sprewell had 27 points _ 20 in the first half _ and Sam Cassell had 21 points and nine assists for Minnesota, which beat the Bulls for the 10th straight time.

The Timberwolves held on despite blowing a 20-point first-half lead and missing nine free throws in the fourth quarter, including four straight by Garnett in the final two minutes.

Raptors 81, Nuggets 74

At Denver, Alvin Williams and Jalen Rose each had 17 points, and Williams hit four free throws in the last two minutes as Toronto snapped the Nuggets' three-game winning streak.

Carmelo Anthony had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Nuggets, who lost for only the fourth time at home.

Hawks 83, Wizards 73

At Washington, Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help Atlanta end a nine-game road losing streak.

Stephen Jackson scored 16 points, Jason Terry added 13 and Dion Glover 10 for the Hawks, who hadn't won on the road since beating Milwaukee on Nov. 18.

Larry Hughes had 24 points for the Wizards, who have lost five in a row.

There is a new timetable for the return of injured guard Dujuan Wagner to the Cleveland cavaliers.

''We're looking at the 6th of January,'' Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. ''That's not written in stone. I'll leave it up to the doctors.''

Not much of a post-Christmas encore from Tracy McGrady, LeBron James or the team that humbled the Lakers.

All of the stars from Christmas took a step back Friday night, underperforming in the fourth quarter on the second night of back-to-back games.

McGrady and the Orlando Magic allowed a 15-0 run down the stretch, handing the San Antonio Spurs their 12th straight win, 98-83.

James shot just 7-for-24 while being defended by Jamal Crawford, and Chicago defeated Cleveland 87-80.

The Rockets, so impressive with their fourth-quarter defense in Thursday night's victory over the Lakers, couldn't stop Carmelo Anthony in the third quarter and made a critical late foul in a 95-94 loss to Denver.

In other games, Golden State beat Sacramento 98-91, Miami defeated Washington 92-84, New York topped Memphis 98-94, New Jersey edged Detroit 82-79, Utah outlasted Toronto 97-94 in overtime, Boston edged Phoenix 104-102, Milwaukee topped Indiana 101-96, Portland downed Minnesota 101-92, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Philadelphia 101-92 and New Orleans crushed Atlanta 109-79.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 27 points and 16 rebounds, while Tony Parker added a season-high 22 points.

``You spend so much energy coming back from being down and just staying in it that by the end you are worn out both mentally and physically,'' said McGrady, who scored 41 in Orlando's overtime defeat of Cleveland on Thursday.

The Spurs began their winning streak Dec. 5 in Orlando after losing four straight and dropping into last place in the Midwest Division. San Antonio now sits atop the division at 21-10.

Bulls 87, Cavaliers 80

At Cleveland, Crawford matched a season-high with 30 points. He played the entire 48 minutes, shooting 12-of-20 with five assists as the Bulls won for just the fourth time in 19 games.

James scored 18 points but missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left that would have put the Cavaliers ahead. Cleveland missed its final eight shots.

Nuggets 95, Rockets 94

At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 22 of his career-high 37 points in the third quarter, shooting 9-of-11 with four 3-pointers in the period. Voshon Lenard made three free throws after he was fouled by Cuttino Mobley behind the arc with 8.3 seconds left.

Maurice Taylor had a chance to win it but missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Warriors 98, Kings 91

At Oakland, Jason Richardson scored 25 points, and Nick Van Exel hit a runner in the lane with 18.8 seconds left to help Golden State snap a 15-game losing streak against Sacramento.

Heat 92, Wizards 84

At Washington, Eddie Jones scored 22 points and Rasual Butler added 10 in the fourth quarter as Miami won its third straight. Heat rookie Dwyane Wade sprained his right wrist with 1:20 remaining. X-rays were negative.

Knicks 98, Grizzlies 94

At Memphis, Keith Van Horn scored 28 points, Allan Houston added 23 points and Frank Williams added 18 and ran the point down the stretch. The Knicks snapped a seven-game road losing streak. Memphis dropped its fourth straight.

Nets 82, Pistons 79

At Auburn Hills, Mich., Jason Kidd had 24 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his league-leading fifth triple-double. Kidd made all six of his free throws in the final 1:13, and Chauncey Billups missed two 3-pointers in the final seconds.

Jazz 97, Raptors 94, OT

At Salt Lake City, Andrei Kirilenko scored 17 points and made several big plays in overtime _ mostly with his defense against Vince Carter. Toronto scored five points in the final five seconds of regulation to force overtime.

Celtics 104, Suns 102

At Phoenix, Ricky Davis hit a 20-foot jumper with 2.8 seconds left and Paul Pierce scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half. The Celtics overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit.

Bucks 101, Pacers 96

At Milwaukee, Damon Jones scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks climb above .500 for the first time in more than six weeks. Milwaukee outscored Indiana 34-19 in the fourth quarter.

Trail Blazers 101, Timberwolves 92

At Portland, Jeff McInnis had 21 points as Portland snapped Minnesota's six-game winning streak. Wesley Person had 16 of his 20 points in the second quarter when Portland outscored Minnesota 37-17.

Clippers 101, 76ers 98

At Los Angeles, Quentin Richardson scored 22 points and Elton Brand had 20 points and nine rebounds as the Clippers won their fifth straight at home.

Hornets 109, Hawks 79

At New Orleans, David Wesley scored a season-high 32 points, including five 3-pointers, and the Hornets handed the Hawks their ninth straight road loss.

In a mostly head-to-head matchup with good friend LeBron James, Bulls guard Jamal Crawford snapped out of a slump and helped the Bulls do so as well with a much-needed 87-80 victory over Cleveland.

Crawford, playing all 48 minutes, tied his season-high with 30 points and helped harass James into 7-of-24 shooting as the Bulls ended a four-game losing streak and an eight-game road skid.

At 4-10, the Bulls own more road victories than all of last season, when they went 3-38.

"Man, we needed this one," said Crawford, who added five assists. "LeBron definitely put on a show in Chicago [last Saturday] and they won. I wanted to step up because I knew I couldn't miss forever. I was due."

"Jamal had it going", said Bulls coach Scott Skiles. "He was playing well and deserved to stay out there. I've done the other to him, where I've taken him out when he hasn't deserved to stay out there. If you're doing one, you should be fair in the other regard."

Crawford's offensive fireworks even forced Cleveland to switch James away from him in stretches.

"Jamal had a great night," James said. "? He's one of the elite point guards in this league and when he's on fire like that you can't stop him."

Perhaps the best way to consider current NBA rosters is to list those players who are not about to be traded, according to some general manager, front-office lackey, published report, Internet message board or hot dog vendor in Section 228 of your local arena.

Already this season, we've seen five trades involving 18 players, from Jalen Rose and Ricky Davis to Rick Brunson and Brevin Knight. But it won't end there, for a variety of reasons. One team, the Trail Blazers, has a mandate for change that comes from the organization's brass. Another, the Hawks, is prepping for an old-fashioned fire sale.

Some teams have a general managers -- Glen Grunwald of the Raptors for instance -- who sense an opportunity to take advantage of the watered-down Eastern Conference and firm up their shaky job status by transacting their teams into the postseason.

After discussing the situation with several front-office types, Sean Deveny of the Indianapolis Star breaks down the 10 most likely members of the NBA's most likely to be traded club, which includes Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Jason Terry of the Hawks, Kurt Thomas of the Knicks, Jamaal Tinsley of the Pacers, Zydrunas Ilgauskas of the Cavaliers, Marcus Fizer of the Bulls, Lamond Murray of the Raptors, newly acquired Antawn Jamieson of the Mavericks and Rodney White of the Nuggets.

Joe Marsh, a wealthy local entertainment promoter, is suing Cleveland Cavaliers swingman LeBron James for $15 million for backing out of several promises and contractual obligations he and his family made.

James' agent, Aaron Goodwin, claims this is a frivolous lawsuit.

``LeBron is not going to waste time giving any credence to Joe Marsh,'' Goodwin said. ``In America, you can file a lawsuit against anybody. This is nothing but a frivolous attack on LeBron with no legal basis.''

Former Cavaliers and now-Celtics guard Ricky Davis was definitely on the way out in Cleveland and it was head coach Paul Silas who choose the deal.

"It has been learned that Paxson was making tentative deals with Minnesota, Miami and Dallas before the Boston package was accepted. The plans were laid out on the table for Silas and he took the defensive-minded veterans (Eric Williams, Tony Battie, and Kedrick Brown from the Celtics) because that's what he covets more than slick shooters and athletic specimens."

"According to an NBA source, one of the reasons (Jim) Paxson's talks with Miami about forward Caron Butler (for Ricky Davis) broke down is because Heat GM Pat Riley started asking for Dajuan Wagner as part of the deal."

"The (Cleveland Cavaliers) talked to (the Orlando) Magic about Juwan Howard, who is readily available. The Magic wants to make sure that Drew Gooden gets his minutes and don't think Howard will accept a cut in playing time. Meanwhile, the Magic figure to be looking for a new GM at season's end. Magic exec John Weisbrod has told other within his organization that he can no longer guarantee GM John Gabriel's job security."