Los Angeles  - With the dreamy prospects of having superstar LeBron James in a New York Knicks' uniform two seasons from now, the atmosphere in the Big Apple was electric until he and the Cleveland Cavaliers short-circuited the moment, at least for now.

"King James" scored a game-high 26 points before sitting out the final quarter, and the surging Cavaliers shrugged off the distractions to hammer the Knicks 119-101 on Tuesday night for their 10th win in the last 11 games.

"We hear and see it every day on TV about 2010, but my teammates don't get caught up in that and I don't either," James explained. "Me as the leader, I can't let that faze me because I'm leading these guys on to something we want to accomplish and that's winning the NBA Championship."

Delonte West added 16 points and Wally Szczerbiak had 15 for the Cavaliers (11-3) who built a commanding 67-38 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.

The Knicks traded away their top two scorers, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford on Friday to free up 27 million dollars of salary cap room to entice top marquee players, including the biggest in James, along with Miami's Dwayne Wade, Toronto's Chris Bosh and Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire to sign with them in 2010.

"I think July 1, 2010, is a very big day," James said. "It's probably going to be one of the biggest days in free-agent history in the NBA. So a lot of teams are gearing up to try to put themselves in position to get one of the big free-agent market guys."

James, however, is not tipping his hand on whether he'll be a Knick in due time despite the fans' desire to have arguably the best player in the game on their side.

"I am flattered by the rumours going around that they would love me to be part of their team," he said. "But right now I'm with the Cavs."

"I don't know if it's going to happen," he continued. "I'm so focused on this season and what we have at hand, it's hard for me to think about that date. But at the same time, you have to stay open- minded, if you're a Knicks fan."

Quentin Richardson scored 22 points, Tim Thomas finished with 16 and Al Harrington with 13 in their first game for the Knicks (7-7), who lost for the fourth time in the last five games.

Leading scorer Nate Richardson suffered a strained groin in the second quarter and did not return.

"I know the fans love LeBron and want him here in the worst way," Robinson said. "But we're the Knicks now."

Elsewhere:

LA Lakers 120, New Jersey Nets 93

Spain's Pau Gasol had 26 points and eight rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers overcame a poor shooting night by Kobe Bryant with a strong second half to improve the NBA's best record to 12-1.

Jordan Farmar scored 18 points, but Bryant made just five-of-17 field goals to finish with 12 points - 13 below his season average - as the Lakers outscored their guests
64-39 in the second half en route to their best start since opening the 2000-01 season at 16-1.

Devin Harris had 21 points for the Nets (6-7) who shot an icy 35 per cent (30-87) from the field.

Washington Wizards 124, Golden State Warriors 100

Caron Butler scored a season-best 35 points, Andray Blatche had season-highs of 25 points with 12 boards, and Wizards new coach Ed Tapscott won his first NBA game.

Tapscott, the team's director of player development, replaced Eddie Jordan, who was fired on Monday after the Wizards started out the season 1-10.

Antawn Jamison finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who stopped a five-game slide. Corey Maggette scored 17 points and Jamal Crawford had nine in his Warriors' (5-9) debut after coming over from the Knicks.

Phoenix Suns 99, Oklahoma City Thunder 98:

Matt Barnes buried the game-winning three-pointer with 25.7 seconds left and the visiting Suns rallied to spoil Scott Brooks' home debut as the new Thunder head coach.

After Barnes' triple wiped out a 16-point third-quarter deficit, the Thunder had chances to pull out the victory. However, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook missed shots and Oklahoma City lost its 13th consecutive game.

Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix (10-5) with 22 points, Steve Nash had 20 points and 15 assists. Durant topped Oklahoma City (1-14) with 29 points.

Dallas Mavericks 109, Indiana Pacers 106

Jason Terry scored 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Jason Kidd hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:22 left, carrying the host Mavericks to their fifth straight victory.

Antoine Wright scored a career-high 24 points for Dallas (7-7) and German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki also had 24 with 12 rebounds.

Danny Granger scored 22 points and Troy Murphy had 21 with 14 rebounds for Indiana (5-8) which has dropped five of six. (dpa)