LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a team-record 13th consecutive win on Wednesday with a 79-73 victory over the Detroit Pistons.James tallied eight of his total in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that enabled the Cavaliers to pull away from the visitors and increase their NBA-best record to 61-13. The Eastern Conference leaders are 36-1 at home this season.
The come-from-behind win netted the Cavaliers their first season-series triumph over their heated rivals in 11 years after capturing three of this season's four games.
"That was a good, ugly, physical, grind-it-out type game," Cleveland coach Mike Brown told reporters. "We used to have a lot of those in the past, and it's fun to get back to that."
James also had 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
"Every win is not going to be pretty but we found a way to win," he said.
The All-Star forward helped ensure the victory when he poked the ball away from Pistons guard Will Bynum in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland's Mo Williams grabbed the loose ball and tossed it to James for a layup, despite being fouled, to tie the score at 69-69 with 4:37 to play.
James's free throw on the play put Cleveland ahead to stay.
Delonte West had 12 points, while Anderson Varejao and Williams each scored 11 for the Cavaliers.
Richard Hamilton (13) and Allen Iverson (11) were the only Detroit players to reach double figures.
Rasheed Wallace added nine points and nine rebounds in his first game back after missing 11 contests with a calf injury.
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