Los Angeles - Embarrassed by rare back-to-back losses, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers had enough. James scored 38 points, Mo Williams and Delonte West added 22 apiece, and the Cavaliers avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season, by spanking the San Antonio Spurs 101-81 on Sunday.

The Cavaliers (62-15) were stunned by Eastern Conference-worst Washington on Thursday, and trailed the Orlando Magic by 41 before losing 116-87 a night later.

However, with a day off, they regrouped and punished the four-time NBA Champion Spurs, while improving their league-best records to 62- 15 overall and a 37-1 at home.

"I was serious about tonight's game," James sad. "We had to get it." James said the team's defensive intensity had been missing in the last two games.

"We weren't playing our game," he said. "Defensively, we weren't in tune like we usually are, and Washington and Orlando took advantage of that. We wanted to get back to playing defense and we did that tonight."

Williams said the Cavs showed their resilience following the blowout to the Magic.

"We're a no excuse team, but when you get embarrassed like we did in Orlando, you have to be focused from the jump and take care of business," he said. "There was no talk about it before the game, everybody just took it upon themselves to come out and play."

With James scoring 26 points by halftime, Cleveland built a 55-42 advantage. After having the lead cut to 62-57 midway through the third quarter, Williams and James sandwiched three-pointers in a 16-4 closing surge as the gap grew to 78-63.

The Spurs drew to 84-75 with seven minutes remaining, but James buried a long jumper to trigger a 17-2 run. West nailed consecutive threes before James followed with one of his own to wrap up the runaway win.

"I thought they were great," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We knew we were in trouble. I wanted to find out who the scheduler was that made us play this game after they lost their last two."

Frenchman Tony Parker scored 24, but Tim Duncan (six points) and Argentine Manu Ginobili (four) were ineffective for San Antonio (49- 27) which remained one-game ahead of Houston atop the Southwest Division.

Elsewhere: LA Lakers 88, LA Clippers 85 Lamar Odom had 18 points with 10 rebounds, Kobe Bryant also scored 18 and the Lakers nearly blew a 19-point lead before escaping their Staples Centre co-tenants to remain one-game behind Cleveland for the NBA's best record.

Eric Gordon scored 24 points for the Clippers, who failed to force overtime when Baron Davis missed a three-point try at the final buzzer.

Dallas Mavericks 140, Phoenix Suns 116 German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points, Jason Kidd had 19 with a season-best 20 assists, and the Mavericks virtually guaranteed themselves a Western Conference playoff spot while just about eliminating the fading Suns.

Kidd (10,148) moved past Magic Johnson behind Mark Jackson (10,334) and career leader John Stockton (15,806) on the NBA's all- time assist list, as the Mavericks opened up a four-game cushion over the Suns for the final spot in the West with five remaining.

Detroit Pistons 104, Charlotte Bobcats 97 Will Bynum scored a career-high 32, including a franchise-record 26 in the fourth quarter, and the Pistons strengthened their hold to three games over the Bobcats for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Indiana Pacers 117, Oklahoma City Thunder 99 Danny Granger scored 24 points, Troy Murphy added 22 and the visiting Pacers moved four games behind Detroit for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth with five remaining.

Utah Jazz 108, New Orleans Hornets 94 Ronnie Brewer scored 23 points, Deron Williams had 21 with 11 assists, and the Jazz moved to the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoff hunt by denying the Hornets a chance to clinch a post-season spot.

Denver Nuggets 110, Minnesota Timberwolves 87 Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, and the Nuggets' seventh straight victory stretched their lead to two games over San Antonio for the second seed in the Western Conference playoff hunt.

Houston Rockets 102, Portland Trail Blazers 88 China's Yao Ming had 21 points with 12 rebounds, and the Rockets jumped past the Trail Blazers as the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff chase.

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge tallied 22 points apiece for visiting Portland, which earned its first playoff appearance since 2003 when Dallas beat Phoenix.

New Jersey Nets 96, Philadelphia 76ers 67 Vince Carter scored 15 points to lead seven players in double figures, and the Nets kept their slim post-season hopes flickering by handing the playoff-bound 76ers their most-lopsided loss of the season.

Golden State Warriors 105, Sacramento Kings 100 Kelenna Azubuike had 30 points with a career-high 15 rebounds, and the visiting Warriors beat the league-worst Kings for the second time in five days.

New York Knicks 112, Toronto Raptors 103 Wilson Chandler scored 17 points, David Lee had 16 with 10 rebounds and the visiting Knicks ended the Raptors' season-high six- game winning streak, in a match-up of playoff eliminated clubs.