LeBron James became on Tuesday the youngest player ever to reach 30,000 points and then was overshadowed by the youngest player on the court.

Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, a friend and protégé of James, finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and seven steals to boost San Antonio's lackluster 114-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"He's not scared, he's not awed," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the 21-year-old player. "He really sets the tone for us. He's a fine defender. He's learning how to play and he's doing a good job."

In his second start since taking over Tony Parker's starting role, he needed that strength to face James in the fourth quarter. Murray got a block and then deflected James' layup attempt, which resulted in a three-pointer by Danny Green that put the Spurs ahead 105-94 with 4:20 to play.

"(Murray) was awesome," LaMarcus Aldridge commented, who scored 30 points for San Antonio after being selected as a reserve for the All-Star Game earlier on Tuesday.

James finished with 28 points and became the seventh player to reach 30,000 points, but he couldn't prevent the Cavaliers from suffering their tenth loss in 13 games.

"I never fully kind of get the whole thing of what I'm doing each and every time when I come to it, whether it's a win or a loss," James said. "Looking forward to the moment when I can stop and sit back and drink some wine and talk to my family and my friends and be able to appreciate everything that I've been able to accomplish."

Murray's effort helped San Antonio overcome Cleveland in a matchup between teams embroiled in controversy.

The Spurs denied reports that injured superstar Kawhi Leonard is unhappy with how the team is handling his right quadriceps injury and wants to be traded.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers admitted reports that they had a team meeting to discuss Kevin Love's early exit due to illness during the blowout loss in Oklahoma City and his subsequent absence from practice the next day.

Love said that the Cavaliers have a history of thriving amid chaos, and they seemed to put the dysfunction behind them in the opening minutes, when James scored the seven points he needed to reach the historic milestone.

After missing his first two mid-range shots and a pair of free throws, James got two layups and a mid-range jumper, and then rose up against Green for a basket with one second left in the first quarter to reach the 30,000-point mark. That shot put Cleveland ahead 29-25.

At 33 years and 24 days old, James is the youngest player to reach 30,000 points. Bryant was 34 years and 104 days old when he entered the exclusive club. (D)