James Is Foiled on Birthday

Ron Artest got in LeBron James’ face and inside his jersey.

Happy birthday, rookie.

Artest pushed around the star guard in the second half, and Jermaine O’Neal scored 21 points as the Indiana Pacers wrecked James’ 19th birthday Tuesday night with a 92-89 win over the Cavaliers at Cleveland.

Artest scored 18 points, none bigger than his three-point basket with 54 seconds left, and held James in check after the first quarter as the Pacers improved to 23-10 -- the best record in the Eastern Conference.

James finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes, but he couldn’t shake free in the fourth quarter from Artest.

Cavalier Coach Paul Silas thought James was intimidated by Artest.

“Artest is going to test anyone. He’s grabbing and holding, and they’re letting him get away with it,” Silas said of Artest’s defense on James, who was only three of 12 from the field after a six-of-eight first quarter. “But LeBron has got to push him off, stand up to him and get in his face, and say, ‘If you do it again, we’re going to war.’ LeBron is not there yet.”

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Minnesota 98, Chicago 93 -- Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 15 rebounds at Minneapolis to lead the Timberwolves to their eighth victory in their last nine games.

The Timberwolves held on despite blowing a 20-point first-half lead and missing nine free throws in the fourth quarter.

Kirk Hinrich had 17 points for Chicago.

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Seattle 105, Memphis 99 -- Rashard Lewis had 33 points and Ray Allen had nine in the final three minutes at Memphis, Tenn., to send the Grizzlies to their seventh straight loss, matching their longest losing streak under second-year Coach Hubie Brown.

Pau Gasol had 32 points to lead Memphis, which played without Bonzi Wells, recovering from a concussion he received in Monday’s loss.

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Toronto 81, Denver 74 -- Alvin Williams and Jalen Rose had 17 points apiece, and Williams sank four free throws in the final two minutes at Denver to help snap the Nuggets’ three-game winning streak. Carmelo Anthony had 19 points for Denver.

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Dallas 101, Milwaukee 92 -- Antoine Walker had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki made two key three-point shots at Dallas.

Milwaukee, which trailed by 20 points at halftime, closed to 93-90 before Nowitzki’s first three-pointer.

Michael Redd led the Bucks with 25 points.

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New York 102, Miami 73 -- Keith Van Horn had 22 points at New York as the Knicks turned a 14-point first quarter lead into a rout that brought their first four-game winning streak in 23 months. Lamar Odom led Miami with 19 points.

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Atlanta 83, Washington 73 -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 25 points and 16 rebounds at Washington to help the Hawks end a nine-game road losing streak. Larry Hughes had 24 points for the Wizards.