“LeBron stepped up and put us on his shoulders,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “He said, ‘Come along for the ride.’ And we all hopped on.”

Leandro Barbosa scored 29 points, Amare Stoudemire had 24 and Steve Nash 23 points and 11 assists as the Suns won their second straight game against the Mavericks.

“Things were flowing and the ball was moving,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters.

The Suns (55-18) broke the game open in the fourth quarter when they sank 13 of 15 shots and all four three-point attempts.

Dallas (61-12) trailed by only five after Dirk Nowitzki’s jump shot with 11:19 to go, but the margin soared to 20 points at 120-100 with 1:22 remaining on a pair of free throws by Barbosa.

The Suns shot an NBA season-best sizzling 64.8 percent.

“But this doesn’t mean we are so much better than Dallas,” D’Antonio said.

“Dallas has got the best record and they are going to be the number one seed (in the playoffs). But I think it is going to be very competitive.”

The two teams split their four-game series this year, with Phoenix winning the last game in double overtime.

Nowitzki scored 21 points for Dallas, but he made only six of 18 shots. One reason was the strong defensive play of Shawn Marion on the Mavericks star.

Josh Howard led Dallas with 28 points and Jason Terry had 21.

*Chris Bosh had 24 points and 16 rebounds as the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors scored a 107-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats to lock up their first playoff berth in five years.

*The Indiana Pacers ended the San Antonio Spurs’s six-game winning streak with a 100-99 home victory on Jamaal Tinsley’s layup with one second remaining.

*The Utah Jazz broke a six-game road losing streak with an 86-83 victory over the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming had 35 points, 16 rebounds and four assists for Houston.

Chandler helps Hornets rout Celtics (AP)Byron Scott wanted his Hornets to play like they weren’t in the middle of a playoff race. The result was the team’s second biggest blowout of the season. Tyson Chandler scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Hornets bounced back after Boston’s quick start to overwhelm the Celtics 106-88 on Monday night.

Childress’ 25 help Hawks rout Kings (AP)Josh Childress wishes the Atlanta Hawks could flip some proverbial switch and turn their season around. “We really need to try to duplicate this the next game,” Childress said. “We had 32 assists, which was amazing. It made us so hard to guard.” Childress scored a season-high 25 points and Zaza Pachulia had 23 to help the Atlanta Hawks to their biggest romp this season, 99-76 over the Sacramento…

Magic end Heat’s win streaks (AP)Shaquille O’Neal summed up the Miami Heat’s night in five quiet words. “Just one of those days,” he said. There really was no other explanation, other than the Orlando Magic playing perhaps one of their most inspired games in weeks. Hedo Turkoglu scored 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter, Dwight Howard added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic ended Miami’s nine-game winning streak with a…

The European dreamDALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki has proved that a European can be a franchise player. Now he wants to show one can be the cornerstone of an NBA champ.

Marbury leads Knicks past Raptors 92-74 (AP)Eddy Curry sat down, and the New York Knicks’ energy level promptly went up. Rookie Renaldo Balkman replaced the foul-troubled Curry and sparked a dominant third quarter with his rebounding and defense, helping the Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors 92-74 Sunday. Balkman made all seven shots he took and finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, with his play on both ends fueling a 27-5 run that turned…

Kidd carries Nets past Clippers (AP)After spending a large part of the season giving away games late, the New Jersey Nets are starting to win them with defense, a trend they hope leads to a playoff berth. Jason Kidd had 23 points and 13 assists and the Nets forced 18 turnovers, including two by Corey Maggette in the final 2:14, in a 101-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.

Lewis helps Sonics end five-game skid (AP)Rashard Lewis likes it when Chris Wilcox is aggressive. Lewis had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Wilcox scored 26, and the Seattle SuperSonics snapped a five-game losing streak with a 95-77 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. “It opens it up for me and Ray (Allen) when he’s going to the basket strong like that and taking his time and finishing his shots or getting to the free-throw…

Iverson scores 44, Nuggets roll by Suns (AP)Allen Iverson feels right at home just in time for the Denver Nuggets’ big road trip. Iverson scored 44 points and dished out 15 assists in leading the Nuggets to their fourth straight win, a 131-107 blowout of the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Carmelo Anthony augmented Iverson’s night by adding 29 points in the duo’s best performance since the holiday trade that brought them together three…

No defense for LakersDENVER – Injuries and poor defensive efforts have the Lakers floundering as the playoffs near.

Heat win ninth straight, defeat Kings (AP)Besides rookie Chris Quinn, there’s only one man in the Miami Heat locker room without a championship ring. And Eddie Jones is playing like he desperately wants one. He hit his first five 3-point attempts to stake Miami to a big early lead, and the defending NBA champion Heat extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games with a 103-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday…

McGrady, Alston lift Rockets by Raptors (AP)Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston made life rough on their old team Friday night. Yao Ming made things even rougher. McGrady scored 24 points, Alston had 23 points and fell just short of a triple-double, and Yao added 23 points and 12 rebounds in the Houston Rockets’ 114-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

Kobe scores 65, Lakers end skid at seven (AP)Kobe Bryant had enough after seven straight losses by the Los Angeles Lakers. He took matters into his own hands against the Portland Trail Blazers and left the court with the fourth highest-scoring game in franchise history. Bryant scored 24 of his 65 points in the fourth quarter and added nine more in overtime, powering the Lakers to a 116-111 victory on Friday night.

Fans shower Boozer with boos in return (AP)Carlos Boozer smiled easily before his first game back in Cleveland. He was ready for whatever Cavaliers fans had to dish out. “With every 10 fans that miss me there are probably 10 or more that wish they could shoot me,” he said. Boozer played at Cleveland on Saturday night for the first time since he bolted nearly three years ago for more money in Utah.

Hornets halt six-game slide, beat Knicks (AP)Steve Francis went for another game-winner. When that missed, the New Orleans Hornets finally had a victory in March. David West made the go-ahead jumper with 55 seconds remaining, and the Hornets snapped a six-game losing streak with a 92-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night. The Hornets trailed by 18 points and never led by more than two, but got a much-needed victory in their quest…

Wizards F Caron Butler to miss 7-10 days (AP)Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler will miss a week to 10 days with a left knee injury and won’t travel with the team on its March 20-26 road trip. Jarvis Hayes probably will start in Butler’s place, coach Eddie Jordan said after practice Friday. Butler hurt the knee March 7, but continued to play.

Krystkowiak wins debut, Bucks top Spurs (AP)San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich warned the Spurs that facing a downtrodden team in its first game with a new coach can be dangerous. Then they saw it for themselves. The Milwaukee Bucks made a winner of Larry Krystkowiak in his NBA debut, ending San Antonio’s 13-game winning streak with a 101-90 victory on Thursday night.

Suns end Mavs’ home streak at 23 in 2OT (AP)When the second overtime began in a game that already had plenty of thrills, Amare Stoudemire was ready to settle things. So he went to the basket. Hard. Between points and fouls that got Dallas Mavericks starters disqualified, Stoudemire’s strong start got the Phoenix Suns going toward a 129-127 victory Wednesday night in a tense, thrilling game between the league’s two best teams.

Wizards hand Pacers 11th straight loss (AP)Jermaine O’Neal’s spirited effort on an injured knee didn’t stop the Indiana Pacers from losing their 11th straight game. O’Neal started after sitting out three games with a sprained left knee and had 24 points and seven rebounds, but Gilbert Arenas scored 28 of his 35 points in the second half as the Washington Wizards beat the Pacers 112-96 on Wednesday night.

James scores 29 in return, Cavs win easy (AP)The Memphis Grizzlies wish LeBron James’ back had bothered the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star another night. James recovered from his injury to score 29 points, leading seven Cleveland players in double figures and helping the Cavaliers beat the Grizzlies 118-96 Wednesday night for their season-high seventh straight victory.

Howard leads Magic past Jazz 101-90 (AP)Coach Brian Hill told his Orlando Magic they needed only one game to shake a losing streak and get back into the playoff picture. It happened Wednesday night, when Dwight Howard had 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Magic to a 101-90 victory over the Utah Jazz. The win put the Magic (30-36) back in position for the eighth seed in the dismal Eastern Conference after the New York Knicks and…