TORONTO - LeBron James collected 34 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed sole ownership of first place in the Eastern Conference from the Raptors with a 116-112 win Monday, ending Toronto's six-game winning streak in yet another tense, tightly contested game.

Kevin Love posted 28 points and 14 rebounds, including six three-pointers, while Kyrie Irving overcame early foul trouble to put up 24 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers (16-5).

DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors (14-7) with 31 points, while Kyle Lowry added 24 points and nine assists.

A back-and-forth affair through the entirety of the first half, Cleveland started to pull away as James hit his stride in the second. In the third quarter, he sucked in the defence before assisting on back-to-back Love threes to put the Cavs up 85-74.

When the Raptors clawed back in the fourth, James again took over, eventually pouring in seven straight points to lift Cleveland to its biggest lead of the game, 107-92.

At that point, the Cavs seemed poised to cruise, but the ever-pesky Raptors wouldn't relent.

First, a driving layup from Lowry cut Cleveland's lead to 112-107 with 35.3 seconds left, then moments later DeRozan got the Raptors within five. DeRozan seemed to cut Cleveland's lead to 114-112 with a contested three-point shot from the corner, but the referees subsequently ruled he was out of bounds when he took the shot.

For the Raptors, it was just another frustrating encounter with the rival Cavs, who are now responsible for three Toronto's seven losses this season.

Despite entering tied atop the East, Toronto and Cleveland seemed to be moving in opposite directions. The Cavs had been scuffling, losing three straight games including double-digit losses against the L.A. Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. The Raptors, meanwhile, rode sizzling long-distance shooting and suddenly crisp ball movement to six consecutive wins, including four straight blowouts that they won by an average of 30 points.

Of course, no amount of momentum could have made the Raptors comfortable after losing to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference final last year, and dropping their first two games this season by a combined seven points.

“To me, it's just a blip on the radar screen,” Casey said of the Cavs' recent struggles. “Everyone goes through this. They're still the king of the hill until someone knocks them off.”

Indeed, after James was so vexing in the Raptors' first two meetings with the Cavs - he amassed 49 points, 21 assists and 17 rebounds while shooting 55 per cent - the 31-year-old once again seemed constantly capable of slicing nimbly through their defence and parachuting passes to the perimeter for open three-pointers. In the second half alone, he managed 18 points, five rebounds and four assists to answer every Toronto rally.

Early on in the game the teams' trainers were as busy as their scrambling perimeter defenders.

For the Cavs, James rose gingerly after somehow completing a difficult alley-oop fast-break dunk before returning after a timeout, while J.R. Smith collapsed in a heap with an injury to his troublesome left knee and didn't come back. And Lowry was struck in the mouth by Love's elbow while jostling for a rebound and headed to the locker-room, but returned to the floor minutes later after a shot of novocaine to the lip.

The Raptors will have to wait for another chance at the Cavs. The teams won't meet again until their final game of the season on April 12.