After the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers, LeBron James endorsed the club as a tough opponent that could make the playoffs.

"For one, their back is against the wall," James said in praising the defensively stout club. "And come on, this city deserves a playoff team. It doesn't make sense for them to have all that talent and not to make the playoffs. And I think Isiah (Thomas) definitely has them on the right path.

"As a fan, I would like to see them in the playoffs. Hopefully if they make it - maybe we'll see them in the first round."

LeBron James and Dwight Howard are headed to China.

James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face Howard and the Orlando Magic in a pair of exhibition games in China in October, the NBA announced Thursday.

The games will be October 17 and October 20. The first will be played at the 13,779-seat Qizhong Forest Sports Arena in Shanghai. The second contest will take place at the 15,000-seat Venetian Arena in Macao.

After kicking coach Mike Brown out of a team meeting Tuesday morning, Cavs forward LeBron James had 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers 105-94 to clinch a playoff berth.

Cleveland had lost three of four after an eight-game winning streak, but pulled within 2 games of Detroit in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Cavaliers came out focused after the meeting that James led on Tuesday.

"This is my team, that's my responsibility to make sure everyone's on course," James said. "There can be a lot of distractions on a five-game road trip."

Brown didn't mind his star player becoming more vocal.

"We can help them and put them in spots, coach them, continue to show them where they're wrong, where they're right and so forth," Brown said, "but really, when it gets down to it, they're the ones on the floor playing. If you have a team that decides to take ownership of what they're doing, then the sky's the limit."

LeBron James will co-host the 2007 ESPY Awards with Jimmy Kimmel.

"I'm really looking forward to it," James told the AP. "It's going to be a lot of fun, and a chance to get out there and crack some jokes along with Jimmy. The ESPYS have always been very good to me."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have recalled forward/center Dwayne Jones from the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Jones was assigned to Albuquerque on March 23 and played in two games for the Thunderbirds.  He averaged 11.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game.  Against Idaho on March 24, he posted eight points, 10 rebounds and a league-high eight blocks.  He followed that up the next day with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots in the second game of a back-to-back against the Stampede.

Jones has played in four games for the Cavaliers this season and has grabbed six rebounds in 18 total minutes.  He was acquired by the Cavaliers on Oct. 13 from Boston.

LeBron James invited a buddy who has even more money than he does to watch him play. Billions and billions more.

Philanthropist and businessman Warren Buffett, wearing a black T-shirt with "Witness" glittering on the front, sat courtside as a guest of James on Sunday night for the Cavaliers' game against the Nuggets.

Though an unlikely pair, Cleveland's All-Star forward and Buffett are friends and mutual admirers. They first met a few months ago over a lunch of cheeseburgers in Omaha, Neb.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned forward/center Dwayne Jones to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Jones has played in four games for the Cavaliers this season and has grabbed six rebounds in 18 total minutes.  He was acquired by the Cavaliers on Oct. 13 from Boston.

Ira Newble of the Cleveland Cavaliers said this week that he and agent Steve Kauffman have not yet decided on whether he'll exercise an opt-out clause in his contract for next season.

Newble has until June 15 to decide if he wants the $3.4 million. Even though he's concerned about playing time issues, the high probability is he'll not opt out because he's unlikely to get near that much as a free agent.

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.

Fans booed Boozer during his introduction and a derisive chant broke out in the opening seconds. There were more boos when he scored, rebounded and even when he inbounded the ball.

It's been nearly three years since Carlos Boozer spurned the Cavaliers to make more money in Utah.

Boozer hasn't returned to Cleveland since he left in the summer of 2004. Injuries kept him from playing the Cavaliers when the Jazz visited the last two seasons.

But he's expected to make his long-awaited return Saturday night. Everyone in town knows the reception won't be warm.

A sports talk radio station was getting fans primed for Boozer's return with a contest Friday to see who could come up with the best jeer. Another element that could make for a raucous atmosphere Saturday night is that it's St. Patrick's Day.

"Terrible," Cavaliers star LeBron James said. "It's going to be pretty bad for him tomorrow."

Boozer was a young, upcoming star in Cleveland when he sat down with former owner Gordon Gund to negotiate a new deal after his second season.

A second-round draft pick out of Duke, Boozer was due to make $695,000 in the option year of his contract.

The Cavaliers declined to exercise the option -- making him a restricted free agent -- in the belief he would accept a six-year deal worth about $38.6 million to remain in Cleveland.

Boozer signed a six-year, $68 million offer sheet from the Utah Jazz. The Cavaliers refused to match the offer, saying they had an agreement with Boozer that if they declined his option, he would remain with the team.

"I decided to trust Carlos and show him the respect he asked for. He did not show that trust and respect in return. That's what happened," Gund said then.