Cleveland Cavaliers forward Drew Gooden (90) drives around Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman during the second period of Saturday’s game in Los Angeles. Gooden scored 11 points in the Cavaliers’ 104-92 win.

LOS ANGELES The Cleveland Cavaliers are approaching the midway point of their season with the best record in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James doesn’t feel any pressure.
James scored 28 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 20, leading the Cavaliers to a 104-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. Eric Snow finished with 18 points, helping improve Cleveland’s record to 23-13.

“We’ve just got to keep playing like we’ve been playing,” James said. “We can’t let no pressure get to us. We don’t believe in pressure as a team. And me being a leader, I don’t believe in it, so I kind of keep it away from my teammates. We do an excellent job of taking it game by game and not thinking about the future. We try to approach every game like it’s our last.”

The Cavaliers, making the third stop on their seven-game road trip and coming off their most lopsided loss of the season in Phoenix, won for the ninth time in their last 11 games despite the absence of guard Larry Hughes, who was sidelined because of tendinitis in his left quad.

The Los Angeles Clippers, coming off a six-game road trip, got 22 points from reserve forward Corey Maggette. Chris Kaman had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Elton Brand added 16 points and 10 boards.

“The game is reflected right in the stat sheet,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. “Twenty-two points worth of turnovers just shot us in the foot. They are the best team in the East right now, so they hang around, build their confidence level and catch a run based on our poor shot selection and turnovers to give them a double-digit lead.”

James was 10-for-23 from the field, two nights after attempting a season-high 28 shots in a 109-90 loss at Phoenix. The two-time All-Star, playing to the celebrity-sprinkled sellout crowd of 20,027 throughout the game, brought many of them to their feet with an exaggerated slam dunk that trimmed the Los Angeles Clippers’ lead to 44-42 with 2:55 left in the half.

“Any time you get into the open floor in the Staples Center, it’s great,” said James, the MVP of last season’s All-Star game.

Cavaliers notebook

n James wasn’t the only Cleveland player who heard insults from the crowd. Injured center Scot Pollard, wearing a Mohawk haircut and a goatee that made him look like a cross between John Riggins and Mitch Miller, engaged in some lighthearted by-play with fans during a timeout in the third quarter.

n James was on the winning side for the first time in his seven regular-season appearances at Staples Center, including three losses against the Lakers.

n The Cavaliers are 75-48 when James scores 30 or more points, 13-6 when he gets 40 or more, and 1-2 when he has 50 or more.

n Only once in James’ four-year career has he reached the 30-point mark and been outscored by a teammate. That was on Nov. 19, 2005, at Philadelphia, when he had 36 and Hughes finished with 37 in a 123-120 victory.

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