Sports briefs: LeBron tops himself with 61 points

NBA

LeBron tops even himself with 61 points

LeBron James put on the best scoring show of his NBA life last night, contributing 61 points -- a career high and a franchise record -- as the host Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 124-107. James was 22-for-33 from the field and hit his first eight three-point attempts.

"The man above has given me some unbelievable abilities to play the game," James said. "I just try to take advantage of it every night. I got the trust of my teammates and my coaching staff to go in there and let it go."

His career best had been 56 points in 2005. James broke the Heat record of 56 set by Glen Rice in 1995.

Coach Erik Spoelstra walked into his postgame media conference with a confession: He nearly took James out after the third quarter, at which point he had 49 points. "There was an efficiency to what he was doing," Spoelstra said. "The rim looked like an ocean for him."

James also had seven rebounds and five assists. Al Jefferson had 38 points and 19 rebounds for the Bobcats, but his huge night was merely an afterthought.

James was hitting from everywhere, even a pull-up three-pointer from about 30 feet -- Spoelstra joked it was from 40 -- late in the third quarter as the crowd roared. "Yeah, that was a designed play," Spoelstra deadpanned. "We've been working on that one for a while."

When James checked out with 1:24 left, the entire Heat roster met him near midcourt for high-fives and hugs and the sellout crowd gave him a standing ovation.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

North Carolina survives scare by Notre Dame

Marcus Paige blocked Eric Atkins' driving shot on the final play to preserve a 63-61 win for No. 14 North Carolina (23-7, 13-4 ACC) over visiting Notre Dame (15-16, 6-12). The Fighting Irish went on a 22-5 run to start the second half and took a three-point lead.

The top-ranked Connecticut women's team improved to 31-0 with a 68-48 win at No. 3 Louisville . . . St. John's (20-9, 13-5) beat host Providence, 63-42, to clinch the No. 2 seed and a bye in the Big East Tournament.

NFL

Manning passes exam on surgically repaired neck

Peyton Manning's surgically repaired neck passed an exam required by his contract with the Broncos. He will be paid $20 million next season . . . The NFL has formally designated New Orleans' Jimmy Graham as a tight end for the purposes of his franchise-tag value, which is set at $7.05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints agree on a long-term deal. Because Graham often split as a receiver would, there had been questions concerning whether the NFL's collective-bargaining agreement would call for Graham to have a receiver's tag, worth $12.1 million. Graham still could file a grievance.-- AP