Cleveland Expects James in the Lineup

After sitting out one game with a sprained ankle, Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James is expected to play tonight against the Washington Wizards -- a game the Wizards desperately need to win. James suffered the injury in a blowout loss at Detroit on Wednesday and sat out Cleveland's 91-87 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday.

James averaged 26.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the first three games against the Wizards, who lead the season series with the Cavaliers, 2-1. With wins in their final three games, the Wizards can wrap up the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and set up a first-round series against the Cavaliers, who are already locked into the fourth spot.

Cleveland Coach Mike Brown has said he will play his starters, including James, just enough over the final three games to keep them sharp for the playoffs. James has missed only six games in three NBA seasons, all of them because of ankle injuries.

"I'll play it game by game and see how I feel," James said. "I want to be 100 percent when it counts the most." . . .

Wizards guard-forward Jared Jeffries said he had no regrets about his decision to attack the basket rather than pull up and call for a timeout in the frantic final seconds of Friday's 103-101 loss at Chicago.

Though referee Monty McCutchen called Jeffries for a charge on the play, replays showed that Bulls forward Andres Nocioni was moving and leaning backward in front of Jeffries, whose layup attempt could have tied the score with 0.4 of a second left.