CLEVELAND — The standings show the Eastern Conference’s top team plays in Canada.
The best player remains in Cleveland, Ohio.
LeBron James reminded Toronto he’s king.
Playing without five teammates and his coach, James scored 35 points and added 17 assists, his last setting up a late a 3-pointer by Kevin Love, as the undermanned Cavaliers rallied to beat the Raptors 132-129 on Wednesday night.
The Cavs were down five rotational players and coach Tyronn Lue, who missed his second straight game for health reasons.
But they still had James, who earlier in the day said, “I’ll be available, so we got a chance.”
The three-time champion delivered another virtuoso performance, adding seven rebounds without committing a turnover in nearly 40 minutes.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said associate coach Larry Drew, filling in for Lue. “It’s just amazing what he does, night in and night out. How he sustains it is just mind-boggling.”
James made three free throws in the final 7.8 seconds, but missed one with 3.9 seconds to go, giving Toronto a final shot. DeMar DeRozan got a decent look on a 3-pointer — contested by James — at the horn but missed. DeRozan and Toronto coaches complained the All-Star was fouled to no avail.
The win felt like a statement by the Cavs, but James insisted there were no intended messages.
“It’s a good win for us because of how depleted we are on our roster and everything that’s been going on,” he said. “It’s a good win for us against a very good opponent.
“But I don’t need to remind anybody about what my teams are capable of doing.”
Dwight Howard drops 30-30 game against nets
NEW YORK — Dwight Howard had 32 points and a franchise-record 30 rebounds, becoming the first player with a 30-30 game against the Nets since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1978.
Kemba Walker scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets, who trailed by as many 23 points in the second half but won in front of an announced crowd of 10,231 at Barclay Center while a heavy snowfall outside blanketed the New York City area.