CLEVELAND — In 6 shining seconds, LeBron James made a block at one end, a dunk at the other and left a lasting memory of greatness.

"It was unbelievable," said Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa.

James scored 32 of his 44 points in the second half, and brought Cleveland back almost all by himself as the Cavaliers rallied for their fifth straight win, 113-106 over the Phoenix Suns yesterday.

James added 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Cavs, who trailed by 17 midway through the third quarter when their third-year superstar took control of the game.

And, in a stirring 6-second sequence of the fourth, James made one of the best plays of this NBA season — or any other.

First, he hustled back on defense and blocked a floating layup by the speedy Barbosa, whose shot would have tied it. Then, James quickly retrieved the ball, sped down the floor, eluded Boris Diaw with a head fake and delivered a vicious, right-handed dunk that gave the Cavaliers a 97-93 lead.

Two plays. Six seconds. Over 100 feet. Thousands of dropped jaws.

"I was like, 'Holy Moley!' " Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "That was one of the most athletic plays I've ever seen."

The Suns were stunned.

"He made a million highlights in a very short time," said reigning league MVP Steve Nash, who led Phoenix with 24 points.

James scored 16 points in the third and added another 16 in the fourth when Cleveland's defense finally slowed the Suns, holding the NBA's highest-scoring team to 19 points on just 6-of-20 shooting.

During the Cavs' winning streak, James is averaging 37.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists, and his 44-point, 11-rebound, 7-assist effort has only been matched by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Hakeem Olajuwon since 1991-92.

But it was his game-changing block of Barbosa that stood out.

"That play was very key," James said. "I just wanted to make a play to try and take the life out of them a little bit."

Even more than one-half hour after the game, Barbosa got wide-eyed as he tried to describe how James ran him down from behind.

"I never saw him," said Barbosa, who started for the injured Raja Bell. "I asked coach, 'How did he do that?' My teammates said I was dribbling like crazy and he still caught me. All of a sudden, he's at the other end."

Shawn Marion added 22 points and James Jones 20 for the Suns, who shot 66 percent from the field in the first half but only 37 percent in the second.

Sasha Pavlovic had 15 points, Donyell Marshall 14 and reserve Anderson Varejao six with seven rebounds in a season-high 19 minutes for Cleveland. The wild-haired Varejao, a Cavs fan favorite because of his hustle, missed the first two months of the season after shoulder surgery.

"We know what we are going to get out of Andy every night, that is hustle, rebounding and defense," James said. "I know he feels good to be back playing with us. I know it's good to see him."

HEAT 101, ROCKETS 95

HOUSTON — Dwyane Wade had 32 points and nine assists and Shaquille O'Neal added 24 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. O'Neal also hit a season-high 12 free throws, although he missed five of his last six attempts.

BUCKS 83, CELTICS 79

MILWAUKEE — Michael Redd overcame a slow start to score 15 fourth-quarter points, leading the Bucks to their second straight win. Redd, who sat out much of the first quarter with two fouls, made one of his first nine shots but finished with 21 points for Milwaukee.

SIXERS 89, MAGIC 81

ORLANDO, Fla. — Chris Webber scored 18 points and John Salmons added 17 to help Philadelphia beat Orlando. The 76ers played without Allen Iverson, who missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. Iverson, second in the NBA in scoring at 33.6 points per game, is day-to-day.

PISTONS 102, LAKERS 93

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Rasheed Wallace scored 24 points and Detroit won its 11th straight game. The Pistons improved to an NBA-best 37-5 and tied the fourth-best record through 42 games in NBA history. Kobe Bryant had 39 points on 12-of-28 shooting for Los Angeles.

RAPTORS 124, KINGS 123

TORONTO — Jalen Rose's jumper with 0.4 seconds left in overtime gave Toronto the victory. Mike Bibby had 42 points and Ron Artest had 24 in his second game with Sacramento.