Take James -- and the points

With LeBron James leading the way, the Cleveland Cavaliers hold a commanding 3-1 lead over the Washington Wizards in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

James, who led the NBA in scoring during the regular season, has been a point-producing machine against the Wizards. He scored 32 points in Game 1, 30 in Game 2, then 22 in Game 3 and 34 in Game 4, for a playoff average of 29.5 points heading into tonight’s Game 5 at Quicken Loans Arena.

But will James be the NBA’s highest scorer today? That’s a wager available at sportsbook.com, which lists daily playoff odds on the total points scored by individual players.

For Boston’s Game 5 against Atlanta tonight, the Celtics’ Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are expected to have strong odds, as well as the Hawks’ Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith.

James will even get competition for today’s points title from his own game.

Washington’s high-scoring trio of Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas are expected to be in the mix, along with Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Today’s scoring wager would have been even tougher if the Lakers had not completed a sweep over Denver on Monday.

The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who last week scored 49 points in a playoff game, would have been a heavy favorite with the Nuggets’ Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony also getting great odds.

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Atlanta may have evened its series against the Celtics at 2-2, but that hasn’t changed the Hawks’ numbers when it comes to winning the Eastern Conference title, according to oddsmakers.

The Hawks have the worst odds at 90-1, according to Bodoglife.com.

Boston is still listed as the favorite at 4-9, followed by the Detroit Pistons at 3-1. The Orlando Magic and the Cavaliers are next at 13-2.

Boxing

If bettors are looking for a longshot, boxer Steve Forbes is their man.

Forbes, a former finalist on the television reality program “The Contender,” is listed as a major underdog for Saturday’s fight against Oscar De La Hoya at the Home Depot Center.

A $100 bet on Forbes to upset De La Hoya would pay $900 if he won. On the flip side, a person would need to wager $1,700 just to win $100 on De La Hoya, according to Sportsbook.com.

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