In a battle of two of the East’s top teams, it took a great birthday performance by LeBron James and a late, shot-clock beating three-ponter from Anderson Varejão for the Cleveland Cavs to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 106-101.

With the game tied at 101, LeBron James couldn’t find an opening against defenders Josh Smith and Al Horford.

James got into the lane, but passed the ball off to Mo Williams, who fumbled his dribble before passing off to the 6-11 center from Brazil with three seconds left on the shot clock.

From there Varejão, who had missed all 18 of his three-point attempts up until that shot, had no choice but to take the shot from long range.

James, who turned 25 that night, scored a season-high 48 points, along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. The 48 points were the most LeBron has ever scored at home.

“That’s a great gift,” James said of Varejão’s timely shot. “I had Andy in the gift exchange and so he paid me back. That’s what friends are for.”

The Cavs have defeated the Hawks twice in two nights. They won in Atlanta the night previous, 95-84. The Cleveland Cavs improve to 26-8 while the Atlanta Hawks drop to 21-10.