CLEVELAND (AP) Mateen Cleaves signed a 10-day contract Monday with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who need help at point guard while Jeff McInnis is on the injured list.

Cleaves, who helped Michigan State win the 2000 NCAA championship, participated in a shootaround with the Cavaliers in San Antonio. He was expected to be in uniform for Monday night's game against the Spurs.

At 32-40 through Sunday, the Cavaliers were half a game behind the Boston Celtics in the race for the last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

McInnis went on the injured list Saturday with a bruised right shoulder and can't return before April 6 against Toronto. Backup Kevin Ollie has struggled as a starter.

Cleveland traded for Cleaves before last season, but the deal fell through because he had a foot injury. Cleaves later had a screw inserted into his left foot to prevent a stress fracture, and he was on the injured list for much of the season with Sacramento.

Cleaves averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 assists as a rookie for Detroit, then spent most of the next two seasons on Sacramento's bench.

He was released by Boston during training camp last summer and joined Huntsville of the National Basketball Development League, where he averaged 14.1 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 47 games.

The Cavaliers are expected to sign veteran point guard Mateen Cleaves to a 10-day contract today.

Reports indicate Cleaves will meet the Cavaliers in San Antonio for tonight's game.

Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson sent forward Jumaine Jones to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Cleaves on Sept. 10, 2002, but the former Michigan State star flunked his physical administered by Cavaliers team physician Dr. Richard Parker because of a foot problem. So, the trade was rescinded seven days later, which made things awkward for both players who had to return to their teams.

With Jeff McInnis on the injured list with a bone bruise in his right shoulder, the Cavaliers felt they needed another point guard for the stretch run.

CLEVELAND (AP) In a season of amazing achievement, LeBron James reached a new high. Put simply, he played his finest game when his team needed it the most.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers go on to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1997, many will point to this performance as the reason why.

Breaking out of a personal slump, James took over in the fourth quarter Saturday night and carried a team that had forgotten how to win, willing the Cavs past the New Jersey Nets 107-104.

``I had to turn it to another gear,'' James said after producing 41 points and 13 assists.

How dominant was the rookie's performance against the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions?

_He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including the Cavaliers' final 10.

_He either scored or assisted on all but eight of Cleveland's 32 points in the fourth quarter.

_He scored six points in the final 39 seconds, snatching a victory after the Cavaliers trailed nearly the entire game.

The win ended a four-game losing streak for Cleveland (32-40) and tied it with Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, heading into the Celtics' game Sunday against the 76ers.

``To win a big game like this, after being down all game long ... has to do a lot for our confidence,'' Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said.

He thought it clearly was James' best game _ and Silas wasn't the only one.

``I don't think 'surprised' is the word. We stay impressed with him,'' said Cavaliers forward Carlos Boozer, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds. ``We all, as basketball fans, admire what he is doing.''

The game marked several achievements for James:

_He set career highs in points and assists, topping previous personal bests of 38 points and 10 assists.

_He had the most points by a rookie since Jason Richardson scored 40 on April 16, 2002.

_He scored the most points by a Cavaliers rookie, topping Ron Harper's 40 points on Feb. 4, 1987.

_At 19 years, 87 days old, he became the youngest player to score 40 or more points in an NBA game. Clifford Robinson had 45 points for Detroit on March 9, 1980, four days before he turned 20, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

James had been struggling along with the rest of the Cavaliers after point guard Jeff McInnis went down with a bruised shoulder bone, shooting 32 percent in four straight losses.

``We were searching for offense on the four-game losing streak, and I know I was not picking it up,'' James said.

He scored just two points in the first quarter Saturday, shooting 1-for-4 and looked like he could be in for a long night. But then James seemed to take it upon himself to turn the Cavaliers' fortunes around.

Making drive after drive, he would split defenders and occasionally take hard fouls. James picked himself up off the court more than once and made all 10 free throws.

His last 10 points came on a 19-foot jumper with 1:49 left, two free throws at the 1:23 mark and three straight drives in the final 39 seconds. He slammed the final basket in with two hands.

``He really took it to the hoop, made big shots, steals,'' Silas said. ``Whatever was needed, he provided for us.''

With McInnis on the injured list, James looks like the Cavaliers' best option at point guard down the stretch. The decision to move James over from shooting guard could be easier for Silas with the re-emergence of Kedrick Brown, who shot 5-for-5 for 12 points in a reserve role Saturday.

Kevin Ollie started in place of McInnis on Saturday, but he had four turnovers in 14 minutes, leaving James to handle most of the point guard duties.

``I really felt comfortable,'' James said, ``and I was able to take their guys off the dribble and create for myself and my team.''

CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers placed point guard Jeff McInnis on the injured list Saturday with a bruised right shoulder.

McInnis had missed three out of the last four games after injuring the shoulder March 16 against Chicago.

The Cavaliers have lost four straight without McInnis. He played in one of the games, but obviously was hurting and shot 0-for-7.

Coach Paul Silas said he doesn't want to bring McInnis back until he is 100 percent. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are looking to acquire a point guard.

The Cavaliers have fallen apart offensively and defensively without McInnis.

``It's like the guys can't play anymore. I guess he's just that important,'' Silas said.

McInnis will miss a minimum of five games. The soonest he can return is April 6 against Toronto.

It looks like a LeBron landslide.

The Rocky Mountain News this week polled 66 members of the media, most of whom likely will have a vote for NBA Rookie of the Year. The results conjured up memories of Nixon vs. McGovern in 1972.

Asked whether they are likely to vote for Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets or LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers for Rookie of the Year, 51 of the respondents chose James. Only six chose Anthony, and the remaining nine said it's too close to call or they will split their vote, which the NBA does not allow.

Of the respondents who made a choice, 89 percent went with James. For most of the season, it has been believed the race would be close.

"I'm very, very surprised," James said Thursday when informed of the results. "Shocked, really. I think we've both had great seasons."

Anthony did not express surprise. He said he had heard rumblings in the past few weeks about James gaining support in the rookie race because of Cleveland's push toward the playoffs.

"I knew it," he said. "I just try to keep it in the back of my mind and don't listen to it. . . . If I could get the award, it would be a great honor. If I don't, it's not going to be the last of anything. It's just the start of my career."

CLEVELAND (AP) Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is expected to play Friday against Philadelphia with a custom-made face mask to protect his broken nose.

Ilgauskas left Tuesday night's loss to Phoenix when he banged into Amare Stoudemire in the third quarter. Ilgauskas, who had 14 points in the 103-86 loss, has been playing well this season, averaging 15.4 points and 2.5 blocks a game.

He is expected to practice Thursday after being fitted for the mask at the Cleveland Clinic.

In addition to Ilgauskas' injury, point guard Jeff McInnis' bruised right shoulder is painful and affecting his play. McInnis shot 0-of-7 Tuesday in his first start since missing two games with the injury. He scored eight points from the foul line and had five assists.

``I think I'm going to have to shut it down and wait until I'm 100 percent,'' McInnis said. He said he was unsure whether he will play Friday.

Cleveland is a half-game ahead of Boston for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

If the veteran point guard doesn't return, then the postseason is going to be nothing but a pipedream.

''It will be tough (making the playoffs without McInnis),'' Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. ''We're not that strong.''

McInnis, who has missed the previous two games with a bruised right shoulder, tried to shoot around yesterday at practice and might have suffered a setback. Silas doesn't want to fathom the idea of McInnis being out for a long period of time.

''I'm not going to deal with that one,'' he said. ''He's not going to be out. If something happens long term, then we have a major, major problem.''

Coach Paul Silas said Sunday that the Cavaliers would sign Nailon for the rest of the season when his second 10-day contract expires Wednesday.

''We will look to sign him for the rest of the year,'' Silas said. ''There's a question, but it's not a very big question.''

CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers activated guard Kedrick Brown on Friday to give them another backcourt player while Jeff McInnis nurses a bruised right shoulder.

The Cavaliers placed forward Jason Kapono on the injured list with right knee tendinitis to make room for Brown.

Brown has missed seven games with left knee tendinitis dating back to March 3. He is averaging 5.3 points and three rebounds per game.

CLEVELAND (AP) For the record, LeBron James picks Oklahoma State to win the NCAA championship.

Cleveland's star rookie also has his eyes on a tough team in the NBA playoffs: the Cavaliers.

``I think we're real dangerous,'' James said. ``We're not just a one-dimensional team. There are a lot of Eastern teams that have one player that they go to. And that's not it for us.''

Hardly.

Right now, it's difficult to find a team in the league playing as well as the Cavaliers, who won their seventh straight game Tuesday night, 111-87 over the Chicago Bulls.

With James and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas leading the way, Cleveland has gone 11-3 since the All-Star break and 25-17 since opening the season 6-19.

The Cavaliers are currently clinging to the No. 6 playoff spot in the East's wide-open race _ on Wednesday six teams were separated by just three games.

``We're clicking at the right time,'' said Ilgauskas, the reigning conference player of the week averaging 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his last 13 games. ``We're playing our best basketball of the season right now, and that's when you want to peak. A lot of teams are dropping and we're going up. Hopefully, we'll keep on doing that.''

The seven-game win streak is the Cavaliers' longest since 1997 _ the last time they made the playoffs. And with just 15 games left in the regular season, it might be time to start looking at Cleveland as a legitimate contender.

Not so fast, says coach Paul Silas.

``We have a little swagger about us right now,'' said Silas, who isn't quite ready to proclaim his team among the conference's elite with Indiana, New Jersey and Detroit.

``We're not quite there,'' he said. ``But if we rip off a few more games in a row, I'll say we're there.''

There hasn't been anything fluky about the Cavs' surge.

In winning 11 of 13, Cleveland has posted home wins over San Antonio, Milwaukee and Indiana as well as road victories in New York and New Orleans.

James, who is averaging 22.5 points, 6 rebounds and 4.8 assists since the break, understands Silas' reluctance to crown the Cavs contenders.

But that's not stopping James.

``We believe,'' he said. ``Coaches always say no to stuff like that. But as players, we have arrived and we can play with anybody.''

They're going to have to beat a few more if they plan on making the playoffs.

Cleveland has three games left _ Utah, Detroit and Phoenix _ on its current homestand before facing a five-game run that might determine the Cavs' postseason fate.

They'll play road games in Philadelphia, San Antonio, Dallas and Milwaukee and have a home date with New Jersey, which beat the Cavs by 20 points just before the All-Star break.

The Nets may not recognize these Cavaliers and especially not the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas, whose injury-riddled career has never looked brighter.

Ilgauskas has been dominant on offense and with Silas prodding him, the 28-year-old has become a defensive force by blocking shots and altering others.

``He's one of the top centers in all of the NBA,'' Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. ``There's not many guys at 7-3 who can do what he does on the court _ facing the basket, shooting with range, posting up. He's a very potent weapon.''

Ilgauskas' personal rise parallels Cleveland's ascent after losing at least 50 games the past four seasons.

Three years ago, he nearly retired before deciding to undergo a risky surgery to reconstruct his left foot. He had the same operation on his right foot a year earlier.

The soft-spoken Lithuanian known simply as ``Z'' persevered, and as the only Cleveland player remaining from the Cavs' last playoff team, he's savoring every point, rebound and win this season.

``Since we got LeBron, the excitement around here has been unbelievable,'' he said. ``The people in Cleveland deserve that. They finally got a winner.''