Less than 24 hours after losing a Game 7 that he has no plans to ever watch on tape, LeBron James stated without a moment's hesitation his goal for next season.

"Win the championship," James said Monday. "Simple as that."

As James learned, he can't win one by himself.

Posting incredible statistics nearly every time he took the floor, James pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers deeper into the NBA playoffs than they had been since 1992, when he was 7-years-old.

But a merry month of May in Cleveland ended in ugliness Sunday, when a 79-61 loss to the Detroit Pistons exposed the Cavs for what they still are: a one-man team.

With a date with Miami in the Eastern Conference finals dangling in front of him, James was abandoned in the final game of his first postseason as a pro when he made more field goals (11) than his teammates (9).

Still, James came away feeling good about the future.

"We did a great job this year of making the playoffs, but our goal is higher now," James said. "We've got to mentally focus on getting better this offseason and come back and win the championship."

Top priority

Cleveland's first order of business — and arguably the biggest transaction in franchise history — is to sign James to a contract extension.

On July 1, the Cavaliers can offer him a five-year, $75 million deal that would lock him up through the 2011-12 season. James will play next year under his four-year rookie contract before any new deal would kick in.

If he signs the extension, and all signs point to him doing so, James would spend at least his first nine seasons with Cleveland. And, even at the end of that stretch, he would only be 27.

"Of course I want to stay," James said. "This season has really put me in a good frame of mind as far as me being a part of this organization for a long time. The great teammates that I have and a coaching staff that I really enjoy being around."

James, who will play for the United States in the world championships in Japan, doesn't expect any contract talks to drag on.

"Hopefully not," he said. "I think we can come up with an agreement that's suitable for both sides. It shouldn't take longer than it has to."

Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry delivered a classic understatement when he was asked about James' contract.

"Obviously, we want him back for a long time," Ferry said. "LeBron is a big part of our future and he will hopefully be with us for a very long time."

The Cavs are not permitted to discuss the contract with James or his agent, Leon Rose, until July 1. However, Ferry indicated that the club will be prepared when the clock strikes midnight on that date.

More pieces needed

As much as anything, the 2005-06 season was dedicated to the Cavaliers showing James they were serious about progressing toward an NBA championship — or many.

And, by winning 50 games in the regular season, making the playoffs for the first time in eight years, advancing past Washington in round one, and pushing the Pistons to the brink, they did.

Once he acquires James' signature, Ferry's focus will turn to getting his 21-year-old more help. The Cavaliers went on a buying binge in free agency last summer and won't have as much to spend. Ferry has a mid-level exception, a biannual exception and three draft picks — a first-rounder and two seconds — as tools to acquire more talent.

There are also decisions to make on unrestricted free agent forward Drew Gooden and guard Flip Murray, both of whom played well in spurts but could be elsewhere next season.

Unless the Wizards devise a way to defend him, the best-of-seven series could be over soon.

"LeBron found open people," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "For the most part, those open people made shots. There are two ways to look at it. If you play single coverage, he breaks you down because he's a great player. Or you can double-team him and leave someone open. We did a little of both."

And neither ploy worked.

He was defended by 6-foot-11 Jared Jeffries, 6-9 Antawn Jamison and 6-5 Caron Butler. None of them were able to stop him from imposing his will.

James broke an 18-all tie with a 3-pointer in Saturday's nationally televised game. That fueled a 9-0 James run. Forward Donyell Marshall followed with a 3 to extend the scoring binge to 12 unanswered points.

Suddenly, the Cavaliers led 31-20 after the opening quarter and were never seriously threatened thereafter.

After three quarters, James had outscored the Wizards' "Big Three" of Gilbert Arenas, Jamison and Butler, 27-19.

"He controlled the game," Jeffries said. "You could live with him getting 30 points, but what you don't want is the 11 rebounds and 11 assists."

Forward Donyell Marshall provided a huge spark off the bench with 19 points and seven rebounds. Guard Flip Murray added 10 points and five rebounds as the Cavaliers' reserves outscored the Wizards 32-16.

Arenas, a 29.3-point scorer during the regular season, was held in check defensively by Cavaliers shooting guard Larry Hughes. Arenas had 26 points but shot 7 of 20 from the field.

"Gilbert is a great player," James said. "Larry did a great job of trying to get his hands on the ball and contesting every jump shot. As a unit, we did an excellent job."

Hughes wasn't able to get into any kind of flow offensively (two points on 1-of-9 shooting), but point guard Eric Snow picked up the slack. He matched his regular-season high with 14 points, made four jumpers and had one dazzling drive to the basket.

"Guys have been leaving him all year and are not expecting him to make that shot," Marshall said. "We need him to make those shots. He can score."

REPLAY: The Cavaliers couldn't keep from praising the rambunctious crowd -- the first playoff sellout in Quicken Loans Arena history -- after their 97-86 victory over Washington in Game 1 of their playoff series.

"The atmosphere was unbelievable," James said. "This must be what playoff basketball is all about."

Before anyone gets too giddy, the Wizards lost the first two games of their playoff series against Chicago last year before sweeping the final four.

"We'll feel good about ourselves today and get back to work tomorrow," James said. "Tuesday's game will be a whole different ballgame. We worked all year for home-court advantage. We can't come into Tuesday and lose it."

The Wizards need to get more from Butler (11 points, six rebounds) and Jamison (11 points, seven rebounds) to be competitive. Their "Big Three" shot a combined to shoot 31.9 percent from the field (15 of 47).

"That was certainly playoff basketball by the Cavaliers," Jordan said. "It wasn't playoff basketball by the Wizards. My team (is) not playing the way they were supposed to play. That hurt us. It's a problem we have to correct. Our team didn't have the body language. We didn't have unselfish play. We were undisciplined. We lost our focus."

The Cleveland Cavaliers were just getting used to the idea of being back in the playoffs when the biggest reason why they are headed there limped off the court.

A day after their franchise player sprained his ankle, the Cavaliers might be wise to rest LeBron James even if he feels ready to play when they take on the New York Knicks.

James landed awkwardly during the third quarter of a 96-73 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and did not return to the game.

The Cavaliers said his status is day to day, but considering they are locked in to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, the team has little reason to risk playing him again so soon.

The MVP candidate, however, did not feel the injury would force any long-term absence.

"It's sprained pretty good, but nothing serious," said James, who had 22 points - the first time in 11 games he's scored below 30.

"You never really know until the next day, but I've had them before, and this is nothing that bad."

James has not missed a game since being drafted in 2003.

"If I don't feel 100 percent tomorrow, I won't go," said James, third in the league with 31.6 points per game.

When he left the game, the Cavaliers trailed by 24 in a game in which they were clearly outmatched. Other than James, only Zydrunas Ilgauskas had more than eight points as the team struggled offensively, shooting 35.1 percent from the floor and 2-of-16 from 3-point range.

Detroit, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, held Cleveland to 10 points in the second quarter and 29 in the first half.

"They showed us what playoff basketball is all about," said coach Mike Brown, whose Cavs are back in the postseason for the first time since 1997-98. "It will be good for us to have gone through this if we learn from it."

The Knicks' three-game winning streak ended on Monday in a 101-82 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 26 points and seven assists, but no other Knicks player scored more than 12 points.

"Tonight, we just ran out of gas," Crawford said. "But that is not an excuse. They played with a sense of urgency and desperation trying to make the playoffs."

It's been a rough season for the Knicks, who are without many of their most productive players. Channing Frye is out for the season with a knee injury while Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury and Jalen Rose are doubtful against the Cavaliers because of injuries.

The Knicks own the league's third-worst record, standing only a half-game ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats and 1 1/2 ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers.

STANDINGS: Knicks - 5th place, 24 1/2 GB, Atlantic Division. Cavaliers - 2nd place, 16 GB, Central Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Knicks - F Qyntel Woods, F Malik Rose, C Eddy Curry, G Crawford, G Steve Francis. Cavaliers - F James or Larry Hughes, F Drew Gooden, C Anderson Varejao, G Eric Snow, G Flip Murray.

TEAM LEADERS: Knicks - Marbury, 16.3 ppg and 6.4 apg; Curry, 6.1 rpg. Cavaliers - James, 31.6 ppg and 6.6 apg; Gooden, 8.6 rpg.

SEASON SERIES: Knicks, 2-0.

LAST MEETING: April 5; Knicks, 96-94. At New York, Crawford scored 37 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 6.4 seconds left. New York ended its nine-game losing streak and while stopping Cleveland's winning streak at nine.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Knicks - 7-31 on the road; Cavaliers - 29-10 at home.

Not only have the Cavs learned how to rally from deficits and put teams away, but the effort does not always have to rest on the shoulders of LeBron James. The team is rising to the occasion just in time for the playoffs.

"We're winning in all type of ways and in all type of ballgames," James said. "We're finding ways to win down the stretch, and that's all that matters. It's playoff time and guys are ready to play. That's great to see."

The Cavs held off the pesky Charlotte Bobcats, just as they did 11 days earlier, as they pulled out a 101-97 victory at Charlotte Bobcats Arena on Sunday.

The Cavs (44-29) tied their season-high winning streak of eight games with the victory over the Bobcats (20-54).

The situation for the Cavs gets even better. Following the win, the Cavs announced Larry Hughes plans to return to action on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers at The Q. Hughes has not played since Dec. 31 because of a right middle finger fracture that required two surgeries.

"The level that we're playing at and to get Larry back [on Tuesday], wow, that's all I can say about it," James said.

Hughes is primed to play.

"I'm ready to get geared for the playoffs," Hughes said. "I'm ready to finish the season strong and get a little rhythm."

James, who was in foul trouble for much of the second half, did not need his cape for this one. He had 35 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but help during crunch time came from Flip Murray. He scored 11 of his 16 points during the fourth quarter.

"It's good to see other guys step up and hit big shots for us, especially when things are tight," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team, and it takes a lot of pressure off LeBron James because he commands so much attention."

The biggest play came while the Cavs were clinging to a three-point lead with 28 seconds left. That's when Ira Newble forced Gerald Wallace to spin in the lane only to meet the outstretched arms of Anderson Varejao. Wallace's shot was short. Two James free throws gave the Cavs a 99-94 lead with 26 seconds left.

"Ira has been injured, and it's been unfortunate because he never got into the rotation," Brown said. "The one thing that he still knows how to do is innate. . . . He did a heck of a job on Wallace. He turned him into Andy, and Andy has those long arms, and that made it a tough shot."

Raymond Felton, who lit the Cavs up for 30 points during the March 22 game at The Q, nailed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, and the Bobcats trailed by three. Donyell Marshall split a pair of free throws, and Felton missed a jumper to seal it.

"We're hitting a stride where we know what we want to do," Hughes said. "We're figuring out what it's going to take to win and how to turn it up a notch during certain times during the game. We're growing as a team, and we're playing well right now. It's coming at the right time."

James said Monday he declined the NBA's request that he participate in the NBA's All-Star dunk contest. He will, however, be in the skills challenge.

"They didn't beg or plead, I just declined," he said before the Cavaliers' game against the Charlotte Bobcats. "They asked me to do something else, so I said yes."

Cleveland's All-Star forward has declined to participate in the dunk contest in all three of his seasons. He did, however, play on the sophomore team in last year's Rookie Challenge and was a starter for the East in the All-Star Game.

He skipped the dunk contest his rookie year, partially because he was upset at not being picked as a reserve for the Eastern Conference's All-Star team.

Meanwhile, James was named the Eastern Conference's player of the week on Monday after leading Cleveland to a 4-0 record since Jan. 24. He averaged 33.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.3 steals in the four victories.

It's the second time this season and fifth time in his career that James has won the conference's weekly honor. He was voted the East's top player in November.

The Cavaliers have won five straight since losing five in a row on a West Coast road trip. They entered Monday's game at Charlotte in second place in the Central Division.

"It was unbelievable," Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa said.

James scored 32 of his 44 points in the second half Sunday and brought Cleveland back almost all by himself as the Cavaliers rallied for their fifth straight victory, 113-106, over the Suns.

James had 11 rebounds and seven assists. The Cavs trailed by 17 midway through the third quarter when James took control.

And, in the stirring, six-second sequence of the fourth, James made one of the best plays of this NBA season -- or any other.

First, he hustled back on defense and blocked a floating layup by a speedy Barbosa, whose shot would have tied it. Then, James quickly retrieved the ball, sped down the floor, eluded Boris Diaw with a head fake and delivered a right-handed dunk that gave the Cavaliers a 97-93 lead.

Two plays. Six seconds. More than 100 feet. Thousands of dropped jaws.

"I was like, 'Holy Moley!' " Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "That was one of the most athletic plays I've ever seen."

The Suns were stunned.

"He made a million highlights in a very short time," said reigning league MVP Steve Nash, who led Phoenix with 24 points.

James scored 16 in the third and 16 in the fourth when Cleveland's defense finally took charge, holding the NBA's highest-scoring team to 19 points, on 6-of-20 shooting.

During the Cavs' winning streak, James is averaging 37.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists. And his 44-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist effort has only been matched by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Hakeem Olajuwon since 1991-92.

But it was his game-changing block of Barbosa that stood out.

"That play was very key," James said. "I just wanted to make a play to try and take the life out of them a little bit."

Even more than a half-hour following the game, Barbosa got wide-eyed as he tried to describe how James ran him down from behind.

"I never saw him," said Barbosa, who started for the injured Raja Bell (sore calf). "I asked coach, 'How did he do that?' My teammates said I was dribbling like crazy, and he still caught me. All of a sudden, he's at the other end."

Shawn Marion scored 22 and James Jones 20 for the Suns, who shot 66 percent from the field in the first half.

Sasha Pavlovic had 15 points, Donyell Marshall 14 and reserve Anderson Varejao six with seven rebounds in a season-high 19 minutes for Cleveland.

Varejao, a Cavs fan favorite because of his hustle, missed the first two months of the season following shoulder surgery.

"We know what we are going to get out of Andy every night, that is hustle, rebounding and defense," James said.

"I know he feels good to be back playing with us. I know it's good to see him."

A few days before he officially turns 21, LeBron James was thrown a glamorous birthday party.

The Cavaliers’ All-Star forward celebrated Wednesday with family, friends, fans, teammates and VIPs at downtown’s House of Blues — not far from where James lights up Quicken Loans Arena on a regular basis.

Wearing a white suit, James arrived about 8:30 p.m. in his black Rolls Royce before going inside to host a private dinner for 65 people in the club’s exclusive Foundation Room. Then, it was downstairs to party with 1,000 people.

Tickets for the party ranged from $50 to $300 with parts of the proceeds going to charity.

After practice Wednesday, James said he hoped partygoers wouldn’t try to pass off Christmas gifts as his birthday present.

“I hope I get gifts,” he said with a smile. “I hope a lot of people bring me nice gifts for my birthday.”

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, who attended the party, said his wife was at a loss for what to buy for the NBA superstar who presumably has everything.

“She said, ‘What do you get LeBron?”’ Brown said. “I said, ‘I don’t know, babe. You can figure it out.”In less than three seasons in the NBA, James, who jumped straight from high school to the pros, has established himself as one of the league’s premier players. In addition to rewriting the record book for players under 21, James has resurrected the Cavaliers, who were one of the league’s worst franchises before his arrival.

James’ birthday is Dec. 30, a date he shares with golfer Tiger Woods, who like James had a rapid rise to superstardom.

This season, James is averaging 30.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists for the Cavaliers, who are off until Saturday when they face the Detroit Pistons.

LeBron James scored 37 points, Damon Jones hit three consecutive 3-point shots in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-100 last night.

James, the NBA's third-leading scorer, was 12 for 25 from the floor - including 4 of 6 on 3-point attempts - as Cleveland (15-9) won its fourth straight. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs.

Jones capped the decisive 15-0 run in the fourth quarter with three 3s, and finished with 15 points.

Larry Hughes started and scored nine points for Cleveland after missing Wednesday's practice to tend to his ailing brother in St. Louis - who had a heart transplant 10 years ago.

"Every family has something that they deal with," Hughes said before the game. "This is our challenge. ... We have to get through it and just try to stay positive."

After two free throws by Eric Snow, a steal and layup by James and a basket by Ilgauskas cut the Bulls' lead to 81-80, Jones went to work.

His 3 with 8:17 left put the Cavaliers ahead, and he hit another to make it a five-point game.

CLEVELAND - James 12-25 9-13 37, Gooden 2-3 2-3 6, Ilgauskas 7-13 11-11 25, Snow 1-3 7-7 9, Hughes 2-9 4-6 9, Jones 5-12 0-0 15, Marshall 1-6 0-0 3, Newble 0-1 0-0 0, Henderson 2-2 0-1 4. Totals 32-74 33-41 108.

CHICAGO - Nocioni 9-14 2-2 21, Deng 7-13 1-2 16, Sweetney 3-8 1-2 7, Hinrich 4-11 0-0 8, Duhon 4-7 0-0 10, Gordon 7-15 4-4 22, Chandler 1-2 0-0 2, Songaila 7-11 0-0 14. Totals 42-81 8-10 100.

Cleveland 31 26 14 37 - 108Chicago 26 27 26 21 - 100

3-Point Goals - Cleveland 11-27 (Jones 5-11, James 4-6, Hughes 1-4, Marshall 1-6), Chicago 8-21 (Gordon 4-8, Duhon 2-4, Deng 1-2, Nocioni 1-4, Hinrich 0-3). Rebounds - Cleveland 44 (Ilgauskas 11), Chicago 47 (Nocioni 10). Assists - Cleveland 17 (James 6), Chicago 23 (Duhon 8). Total Fouls - Cleveland 13, Chicago 25. A - 21,874. (21,711).

NEW YORK Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James remains one of the top picks after two rounds of voting for the 2006 N-B-A All-Star Game.