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Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love drives past Orlando Magic's Nikola VucevicTony Dejak/The Associated Press

After a blunt assessment of his play at the team's shoot around, LeBron James responded with a dominant performance.

James scored 29 points, including 16 in the first quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke a four-game losing streak with a 106-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

The Cavaliers were coming off an 0-4 week in which James' numbers were down, causing him to say Monday morning, "I stink."

The four-time MVP took care of that problem by controlling the game early and sparking his team to a much-needed comfortable win.

"I'm my biggest critic," James said. "I wasn't happy with my play the last week. No one puts any more pressure on me than myself. You go out and you just don't talk about it, you show it too."

Cavaliers coach David Blatt wasn't surprised that James followed his self-criticism with a strong game.

"His influence is widespread," Blatt said. "The things that he does and the way he plays the game and the impact he has on those around him is consequential in every respect. He can impact in every way. He did that and obviously everyone followed."

After averaging 18.5 points and shooting 41 per cent from the field in the losing streak, James was 9 for 17 from the field Monday and tied a season-high with 11 assists while not playing the fourth quarter.

James hit four shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, made all seven of his free throws and had four assists in the opening period. He finished the first half with 22 points, including a fade away jumper from the top of the key to end the second quarter.

"He's a great player and that's what great players do; they lead their team and make plays at both ends of the floor," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said.

Cleveland's problems began with home losses to Denver and defending champion San Antonio. The Cavaliers looked lacklustre in losing at Washington on Friday, but their problems deepened the next night against Toronto at home when they led by 18 points in the first quarter and lost 110-93.

James called the Cavaliers "fragile" following the game and Blatt agreed with that point of view when asked about it before Monday's game.

"Those were seven pretty tough days for us," Blatt said.

"A win always makes things feel better, but we still have a lot of work to do," James said.

Anderson Varejao scored 14 points while Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving each added 12.

Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 22 points while Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and 13 rebounds.

The Cavaliers have won eight consecutive games against Orlando. The 74 points were the fewest the Magic have scored and a season-low allowed by the Cavaliers.

Cleveland went ahead for good four minutes into the game, built a 21-point lead in the second quarter and led 56-38 at halftime.

Orlando cut the lead to 12 early in the third, but Varejao hit four mid-range jumpers and a hook shot, and James found Shawn Marion with a baseball pass for a dunk to help Cleveland re-establish control.

James hauled in a long pass from Love and hammered down a dunk to bring the crowd to its feet and move the lead to 72-48.

The Magic, who had won two straight road games, played without forward Tobias Harris, their second-leading scorer and rebounder. He missed his second straight game with a strained right calf.

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CLIPPERS 113, HORNETS 92

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Blake Griffin had 22 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, Chris Paul had 22 points and a season-high 15 assists and Los Angeles handed Charlotte their sixth straight loss.

Griffin was 10 of 23 from the field and finished one assist shy of a triple-double.

The Clippers were 15 of 32 from 3-point range, while the Hornets were just 2 of 20. Jamal Crawford had 21 points and J.J. Redick added 17 and the sharp-shooting duo combined to go 9 of 17 from beyond the arc.

Paul came in averaging had 9.5 assists for the Clippers (8-5).

Cody Zeller led the way for Charlotte with a career-high 17 points off the bench. Al Jefferson had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Kemba Walker added 15 points for the Hornets (4-11), who have lost eight of their last nine games.

TRAIL BLAZERS 114, 76ERS 104

PHILADELPHIA – LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 of his 33 points during the pivotal third quarter to help Portland defeat Philadelphia, sending the 76ers to their 14th straight loss to open the season.

Wesley Matthews added 17 points, Damian Lillard had 16 and Robin Lopez chipped in 12 for Portland (11-3), which won its eighth in a row.

Michael Carter-Williams led Philadelphia (0-14) with 24 points.

The 76ers moved within one loss of matching the franchise mark for consecutive losses to begin a season and will look to avoid an 0-15 opening when they host Brooklyn on Wednesday. They also are just four losses from tying the 2009-10 Nets, who set an NBA record by beginning the season 0-18. If the losing continues, Philadelphia could break the NBA record for losses to start the season on Dec. 5 when hosting Oklahoma City.

ROCKETS 91, KNICKS 86

HOUSTON – James Harden had 36 points to lead the depleted Houston to a victory over slumping New York Knicks.

Houston (11-3) played without centre Dwight Howard (knee) and point guard Patrick Beverley (hamstring), but Harden had half of the Rockets' 14 3-pointers to overwhelm the Knicks, who played the second half without star forward Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony left the game with less than two minutes remaining in the first half and did not return, suffering from back spasms, the team said. Anthony had 14 points.

Jose Calderon and Travis Wear both had 9 points for the Knicks (4-11), who fell to 1-6 on the road and suffered their 10th loss in the last 12 games. Despite leaving so early in the game, Anthony led Knicks scorers, and none of his teammates scored double figures.

Six other players scored at least 8 points, including five bench players. The Knicks made only two field goals in the final five minutes of the game.

PACERS 111, MAVERICKS 100

DALLAS – Donald Sloan scored 29 points and seven Indiana players scored in double figures in a victory over Dallas.

The Pacers led the entire second half, and set a season high in points and equaled their season high in field-goal percentage (48.1).

Indiana got a double-double from Luis Scola, who scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Solomon Hill and Rodney Stuckey each scored 12 points, while Chris Copeland and Damjan Rudez each had 11, and Ian Mahinmi added 10.

Mahinmi made his first start of the season with centre Roy Hibbert sidelined with a sprained ankle.

The Mavericks, who have lost two straight, were led by Monta Ellis with 24 points.

Dirk Nowitzki added 22 points and team-high 11 rebounds. Chandler Parsons scored 16 and Devin Harris 13.

BULLS 97, JAZZ 95

SALT LAKE CITY –Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and Pau Gasol added 23 points and nine rebounds to lead Chicago to a victory over Utah.

Derrick Rose scored 18 points in his return to the Bulls' lineup. Chicago beat the Jazz for ninth time in the last 12 games between the two teams.

Derrick Favors scored 21 points and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds for Utah, which rallied from a 21-point deficit, but couldn't close it out. Enes Kanter had 19 points and eight rebounds while Trey Burke had 18 and 10 assists.

Utah took its first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Trevor Booker made a layup to put the Jazz up 80-78.

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