James, Williams lead 4th-quarter surge as Cavs hand Suns first home loss, 109-91

James, Cavs hand Suns first home loss, 109-91

PHOENIX — LeBron James and Mo Williams led a 15-0 fourth-quarter run and the Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Phoenix Suns their first home loss of the season, 109-91 on Monday night.

James scored 29 and Williams 24 as the Cavs shot 53 percent one night after a tough loss at Dallas.

Steve Nash had 18 points and 10 assists for Phoenix.

The Suns, the NBA’s only unbeaten team at home at 10-0 entering the game, had won 19 straight there overall. Their previous home loss was on March 12 — to the Cavaliers.

Shaquille O’Neal didn’t get much of a reaction from the fans in his first game in Phoenix since the Suns traded him to Cleveland, just a smattering of cheers and boos when he was introduced.

In foul trouble much of the night, O’Neal had three points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.

The Suns’ Amare Stoudemire, also plagued by foul problems, had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

James scored seven and Williams six in the decisive final outburst.

Phoenix went 6:13 without a field goal as Cleveland outscored the Suns 17-5 down the stretch.

The Cavaliers haven’t lost two in a row since dropping the first two games of the season to Boston and Toronto.

An 11-3 run at the end of the second quarter and start of the third put Cleveland ahead 63-55. The Suns tied it for the final time at 65 on Nash’s 13-footer with 7½ minutes left in the third.

Cleveland responded with a 13-4 run, and an 18-footer by Zydrunas Ilgauskas put the Cavaliers ahead 78-69 with 2:04 left in the period. Cleveland led 82-75 entering the fourth.

The Cavs were up 59-53 after a tight first half that featured two spectacular dunks by James, one from each side of the basket.

There were 18 lead changes and 15 ties in the first two quarters.

James had 18 points in the first half. Williams scored 16 in the second.

NOTES: The Suns could have injured guard Leandro Barbosa (sprained ankle) back for their Christmas night game against the Los Angeles Clippers. … James entered the game averaging 31.4 points per game on the road, 25.4 at home. … In a matchup of the two best 3-point shooting teams in the league, Cleveland was 5 of 12, Phoenix 4 of 19. … Cleveland is on a four-game road trip that climaxes with a Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Lakers.