Los Angeles Lakers, Lebron James | featured news

You don’t have to warn Mike Brown about expectations next season with the Lakers. This is, after all, the guy who lived with the would-be championship burden of LeBron James sitting on his back in Cleveland. Sure, the Lakers have added Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, among others, to their roster this summer. Sure, he can feel those 16 previous championships staring down from the rafters and the record books.

LeBron James shook off flu-like symptoms to score 31 points, Chris Bosh scored 15 and the Miami Heat won their second straight, topping the Los Angeles Lakers 98-87 on Thursday night.

LeBron James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while hitting a season-high five 3-pointers, and the Miami Heat thrived on the holiday stage in a 96-80 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder top the Western Conference, while Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the first returns of 2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. Bryant, The Finals MVP last season, is the overall leader with 722,682 votes.

Cleveland showed its Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers was no gift as LeBron James scored 37 points, including 12 straight down the stretch, and the Cavs beat Kobe Bryant and the NBA champions 93-87 on Thursday night.

There will be no Kobe-LeBron showdown in the NBA finals -- and that could make things tougher for the Lakers.