LeBron James celebrated with the Yankees and toyed with the Knicks.

No wonder he's bummed about the NBA schedule: only one Garden party this season.

James scored 33 points in his lone visit to New York, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 100-91 victory over the Knicks on Friday night.

One night after managing just 42 second-half points in an ugly home loss to Chicago, the Cavaliers rang up 40 in the first quarter, leaving New York fans with little left to do besides cheer for the Yankees in attendance and enjoy another mesmerizing performance by James.

"The atmosphere was great," James said. "Lot of stars in the building and like I said it's humbling to know that you have guys like the Yankees come out and Jay-Z. It's really, really humbling.

"You almost feel like you're a performer sitting on the stage and they're watching you perform."

And he sure gives them a show.

The NBA's MVP added nine assists and eight rebounds, but fell just shy of passing Kobe Bryant as the active scoring leader at Madison Square Garden. James improved his average to 30.4 points, with Bryant averaging 30.5 in 11 visits, according to STATS LLC.

James had scored 50 or more in two of his last three trips, joining Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple 50-point games at the current building.

"LeBron was obviously LeBron," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He was spectacular but you kind of overlook his numbers because of who he is."

Mo Williams scored 12 points for the Cavaliers, who have won six in a row against the Knicks and four straight at the Garden, where James loves to perform.

"It's this building," James said. "This building's very special."

New Yorkers are desperate for him to make it his full-time home when he becomes a free agent next summer, but the Knicks continue to offer nothing on the court that would make him consider a switch. As it is, he has as many victories at MSG this season as the Knicks, who fell to 1-5 overall.

David Lee scored 21 points and former Cavs guard Larry Hughes had 18 for the Knicks, who played their first nationally televised home game since March 19, 2006, and showed they are still miles from being ready for prime time.

James said he was still sore from a couple of falls in Thursday's 86-85 home loss, but vowed that wouldn't prevent him from playing the way he always does. Just to prove it, he then nearly outscored the entire Knicks team in the first quarter. Continued...