WASHINGTON _ In the Cavaliers' first meeting with the Washington Wizards this season, LeBron James was otherworldly.
For most of Sunday's game at Capital One Arena, James inched toward humanity on the same night he made a statement about it.
Coming out wearing one black shoe and one white one with EQUALITY printed in gold across the heel, James started slowly on the second night of a back-to-back.
James' shoe social consciousness lasted for a half, with him changing into a wine-colored pair after hitting 4-of-12 in the first two quarters.
But as Wizards coach Scott Brooks knows, there is nothing normal about James. Despite his shooting woes, James recorded his third consecutive triple-double, his fourth in the last five games, his sixth of the season and the 61st of career in leading the Cavs to a 106-99 victory.
James finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists, while making 8-of-23 field goals.
The Cavs (23-8) won their fifth in a row and improved to 18-1 since Nov. 11. They extended their franchise record streak of making at least 10 3-pointers to 20 games, going 14-of-34 (41 percent) from beyond the arc.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards (16-14) with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists, Mike Scott added 19 points and John Wall had 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Kevin Love had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Cavs, and Jeff Green added 15 points.
The outcome was in doubt with the Cavs leading 97-94 with 3:39 remaining. But Love hit a 3-pointer, then stole the ball from Wall and James converted it into an and-one for a 103-94 lead. J.R. Smith came up with another steal off Markieff Morris and was mobbed by his teammates after he called timeout while sprawled on the court to save the possession with 3:00 to go.
Scott hit two baskets, one a 3-pointer, and Love converted two free throws as the Cavs led 105-99 with 1:09 left. James hit the second of two free throws to push the margin to 106-99 with 39.9 seconds remaining. Beal's miss with 33 seconds to go sealed the Wizards' fate.
In the same venue on Nov. 3, James tied the Cavs franchise record and set the arena mark with 57 points. Before the game, Brooks joked, "If we keep him to 56, that would be pretty good tonight."
Brooks didn't want to double-team James early because of the Cavs' collection of 3-point shooters.
"It sounds easy on paper _ take the ball out of LeBron's hands with the double team. That guy, he makes passes that nobody in the history of the game has made," Brooks said. "He finds 3-point shooters right on time, on target, and they're beeline passes, they've got seconds to lace it up and shoot a wide-open 3.
"You have to do the best you can. LeBron is going to impact the game one way or another. He does it on many levels _ with his passing, with his defense, with his offense, with his brain. You have to be able to withstand it because if you don't he just mentally wears you down."
The Cavs changed their plan on center Tristan Thompson, who entered the night two games into his return after missing 19 with a left calf injury. Lue planned to sit Thompson, but instead decided to double his minutes to about seven in each half. Thompson, though, made little impact in his 15 minutes, scoring four points.
Lue did sit Dwyane Wade, the 35-year-old leader of the second unit after Wade experienced soreness in his left knee last week.
The Wizards were without forward Otto Porter Jr., scratched at game time with a bruised right thigh. Wall played his third consecutive game after missing eight with a sore left knee and took a while to get going, scoring two points in the first quarter and nine in the second.
The Cavs are 14-6 against the Wizards since the start of the 2012-13 season and have won four in a row at Capital One Arena.
