CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 28 points after missing a game with a sprained right ankle, leading Cleveland over Los Angeles 98-84 Saturday.

James missed Cleveland’s 101-95 loss in Seattle on Thursday after injuring the ankle the previous night against Portland. The Cavaliers, who are 0-6 without James this season, announced he would start about 45 minutes before the game.

The Clippers played their fourth straight game without leading scorers Corey Maggette and Chris Kaman, who were out with the flu. Al Thornton led Los Angeles with 23 points while Cuttino Mobley scored 19.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Drew Gooden added 14 points and 12 boards, while James had 11 rebounds.

ROCKETS 91, BUCKS 83 – In Milwuakee, the second edition of Yao vs. Yi didn’t quite live up to its billing, as Yao Ming’s Houston Rockets beat Yi Jianlian and the Milwaukee Bucks 91-83 on Saturday despite relatively quiet nights by both of China’s biggest basketball exports.

Yao scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds for Houston, sitting for much of the first half after getting in early foul trouble and tweaking his ankle just before halftime.

Yi scored six points, below the rookie’s average of 9.7 per game.

Tracy McGrady scored 33 to lead Houston, hitting several jumpers to hold off a late Bucks rally.

Australian Andrew Bogut added to the game’s international flavor with 21 points to lead Milwaukee, often getting the best of Yao on both ends of the court.

Jazz 110, Grizzlies 91 – In Memphis, Tenn., Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Deron Williams had 16 points and 11 assists, and Utah extended its winning streak to eight games by beating new-look Memphis.

The Jazz have won 12 of their last 13 and sit atop the Western Conference’s Northwest Division. Memphis lost its third consecutive game, and Grizzlies fans got a glimpse of what the rest of the season might be like without team leader Pau Gasol, who was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 15 points, but was 5-of-15 from the field. The Grizzlies were short-handed because none of the three players obtained from Los Angeles – Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown and Aaron McKie – dressed for the game.

Nuggets 117, Bobcats 101 – In Denver, Carmelo Anthony returned from an ankle injury to score 25 points, Allen Iverson added 24 points and 13 assists, and Denver beat Charlotte.

Linas Kleiza came off the bench to add 23 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, as the Nuggets won their eighth straight game at the Pepsi Center. The team is now 20-5 at home this season. Denver didn’t win its 20th home game last season until April 4.

Magic 121, Pacers 115 – In Indianapolis, Dwight Howard had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Orlando beat Indiana for its fourth straight victory.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, and Rashard Lewis added 19 points for Orlando (31-18).

Danny Granger finished with 29 points, Mike Dunleavy scored 19 and Troy Murphy chipped in 17 for the slumping Pacers (19-29), who dropped their sixth consecutive game.

Hawks 104, Nets 92 – In Atlanta, Marvin Williams scored 24 points, Josh Smith and Josh Childress each had 23, and Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak by beating New Jersey.

The Hawks, who had dropped seven of eight, used a quick transition game to outscore New Jersey 16-7 on fast-break points in the second half.

SuperSonics 86, Knicks 85 – In Seattle, Kevin Durant shook off another poor shooting night to score 21 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 59 seconds left, and Seattle beat New York for its season-high third consecutive victory.

Seattle native Nate Robinson missed a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining that would have won it for the Knicks, who lost all five games on their trip through the West. They blew second-half leads in four of those defeats, including this one.

Robinson missed all nine of his shots and finished with five points, two assists and three turnovers in 32 minutes.

Kings 105, Bulls 101 – In Sacramento, Calif., Ron Artest scored 28 points and Kevin Martin had 26 to help Sacramento beat Chicago.

Brad Miller had 22 points and 20 rebounds for the Kings, who have won four straight and are 22-24, the closest they’ve been to .500 since 10 games into the season.