The Associated Press

CLEVELAND—Already a supreme scorer, LeBron James is second to none.

James passed Brad Daugherty as Cleveland’s career scoring leader in the first quarter and finished with 29 points, leading the Cavaliers to a 90-83 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night in a possible first-round playoff preview.

In just his fifth NBA season, James moved to the top of the franchise’s career scoring chart, a remarkable achievement for a remarkable player whose potential seems limitless.

He scored 23 points in the second half, including 11 in the final 7:19 as the Cavaliers won their ninth straight at home.

It took Daugherty 548 games to amass 10,389 points. James, the NBA’s leading scorer in his fifth pro season, has 10,414 points in just 380 games. He added 12 rebounds and five assists.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points, Devin Brown scored 14 and Damon Jones knocked down two crucial 3-pointers early in the fourth for Cleveland, which opened a 4 1/2-game lead over the Raptors for the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference.

If the NBA playoffs were to start Saturday, the clubs would meet in the opening round.

Toronto’s Chris Bosh scored 24 points in his second game back after missing 10 with a sore knee. Rasho Nesterovic added 16 for the Raptors, who held the Miami Heat to 54 points in a win on Wednesday night.

They would have no such luck containing James, who overtook Daugherty with a familiar move.

Driving through traffic in the lane, he went strong to the basket and muscled in one of his patented, scooping layups.

The sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena immediately rose to give James a thundering ovation and when a timeout was called, the 23-year-old superstar walked to the bench to receive high-fives and hugs from his teammates.

James then walked to the center of the floor to acknowledge Cleveland’s fans, who serenaded him with “MVP” chants throughout the evening.

The Raptors nearly spoiled the historic night, pulling even at 77 on T.J. Ford’s jumper with 5:24 left. But James’ dunk made it 81-77, and after Bosh scored, Ilgauskas made two free throws to give Cleveland an 83-79 lead.

James, who always has a flair for the dramatic, then hit a 3-pointer to put the Cavs up 86-79 and end Toronto’s upset bid.

Trailing by nine in the second quarter, the Raptors scratched within three by halftime and took the lead midway through the third on consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony Parker.

At that point, James was the only one doing anything for Cleveland. He scored 10 straight points and 12 of the Cavs’ first 14 in the period, but it wasn’t enough as the Raptors took a 67-63 lead into the fourth.

Cleveland’s Ben Wallace went out with back spasms in the third and didn’t return. He missed a game last week with the same problem.

Notes: Cavs coach Mike Brown proudly wore a powder blue San Diego Toreros T-shirt to his pregame media availability. Brown played guard for the school, which knocked off Connecticut in Friday’s NCAA tournament. “A Torero is a bullfighter for everyone who didn’t know,” Brown said. “My oldest son isn’t too happy, he picked UConn in his bracket.” As Brown was talking, Cavs guard Eric Snow walked by and yelled, “Front runner. You haven’t worn that shirt in four years.” ... Cavs G Daniel Gibson has targeted next Wednesday’s game against New Orleans for his return from an ankle sprain. ... Referee Brian Forte became ill before the game and remained back in the dressing room, leaving Dick Bavetta and Violet Palmer to work the game as a two-person crew.