CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James made sure the only thing that

dropped for the Cavaliers were his shots.

James made a career-high seven 3-pointers, scored 40 points -- 28

in the first half -- and got his first triple-double at home as

Cleveland kept its weak grasp on a playoff spot in the Eastern

Conference with a 98-81 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday

night.

By snapping a three-game losing streak and winning for just the

fifth time in 15 games, Cleveland (39-37) slowed its freefall

through the Central Division standings. With six games left, the

Cavaliers are tied with Philadelphia for the No. 7 spot in the

East, 1½ games ahead of New Jersey.

James wasn't about to let one of Cleveland's three remaining

regular-season home games slip away if he could help it. He drained

five 3-pointers while single-handedly outscoring Milwaukee 22-15 in

the second quarter when Cleveland took control and built a 23-point

halftime lead.

"He's just a phenomena," Cavs interim coach Brendan Malone

said.

Cleveland's second-year star wonder, James energized a sellout

crowd of 20,562 in Gund Arena, many of whom came in wondering if

the Cavaliers would ever recapture the way they were playing

earlier this season when it seemed their first playoff trip since

1998 was a certainty.

James added 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his third

triple-double this season, and one never as badly needed. It was

the first triple-double by a Cavaliers player at home since Andre

Miller on Feb. 12, 2002.

"I've never cared about statistics," said James, who was

7-for-13 on 3s. "But I just go out and play my game then they seem

to come. The win is the most important thing right now. I played

more aggressive because I saw New Jersey had won."

The Nets (38-39), who have five games left, beat Boston 99-86 on

Saturday.

Drew Gooden added 24 points and Jeff McInnis 22 as the trio

combined for 86 points of 98 points for Cleveland, which played its

third straight game without All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Gooden also had 15 rebounds and eight assists -- narrowly missing

a triple-double of his own.

"I knew I was close, that's why I played point guard toward the

end," Gooden said. "When LeBron got his 10th rebound, I told him

to get out of the game."

Michael Redd had 26 points and Desmond Mason 12 before he got

thrown out in the third quarter after picking up his second

technical foul. Mason got mixed up with Cleveland's Robert Traylor

and the two exchanged words and had to be separated before the

officials cleaned up matters.

"I should have let it be and not kept running my mouth," Mason

said. "I made a bad decision and wasn't there to help my team down

the stretch. I take responsibility for what I did."

After James grabbed his 10th rebound with 3:41 left to complete

his triple-double, the Bucks had whittled a 25-point deficit to 10.

But James capped his night with his seventh 3-pointer, one more

than he made on March 20 when he scored a franchise record 56

points at Toronto.

With a give-me-the-ball look, James dominated in the second

quarter. He made 5-of-7 3-pointers and scored 22 points in the

period as the Cavaliers turned a seven-point lead into a 62-39 lead

at half.

James added three assists in his virtuoso second, accounting for

28 of Cleveland's 31 points in the 12 minutes. He made four

3-pointers in the final 3:01 and was just short on a fifth before

the horn sounded.

"He was shooting at a hoop that was twice the size of a hula

hoop," said Malian. "That was quite a show LeBron put on."

Ilgauskas sat out again with a dislocated right ring finger. The

only link from Cleveland's 1998 playoff team, the 7-foot-3 center

still has swelling and pain in the finger and isn't sure when he'll

return.

"The timing couldn't be worse," said Ilgauskas, averaging 17.2

points and 8.7 rebounds. "Everybody is frustrated."Game notes
James' 22 points in a quarter were one shy of the team

record shared by Terry Furlow (1978) and World B. Free (1985). ...

Bucks F Zaza Pachulia made his third start this season, replacing

Joe Smith, who did not make the trip. Smith needed four stitches

after cutting his left pinky in the third quarter against Charlotte

on Friday. Coach Terry Porter said Smith would be reevaluated

Sunday and hopes to play in his hometown of Washington on Monday.

... Cleveland has two more home games (New York and Boston) and

four on the road, where they are 11-26. The Cavs are at Orlando on

Monday. ... Ilgauskas tore a tendon away from the bone in his

finger. He's wearing a splint, but can't practice until the

swelling subsides.