James looks to continue his dominance of the Bucks and lead the Cavaliers to a season series sweep when the Central Division rivals meet Wednesday night in Cleveland.

Cleveland (47-12) trailed Miami by 11 points with less than eight minutes remaining Monday night before James rallied the Cavs. He combined with Mo Williams to score 25 of the team's 27 points over the final 7:14 of the 107-100 victory. Cleveland limited the Heat to nine points in that stretch.

"It was tough. It was tough," said James, who had 42 points and went 6-for-7 from 3-point range in lifting the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers to uncharted territory. "It's probably one of the better wins we've had this year, man."

Cleveland has already defeated Milwaukee (29-34) three times this season, thanks in large part to James. The MVP candidate has scored 42.7 points per game against the Bucks, his highest average against any opponent in 2008-09. He is 44-for-80 from the field (55.0 percent) and 10-for-20 from 3-point range in the season series.

Williams, a first-time All-Star in his first season with the Cavaliers following a four-year stint with the Bucks, is averaging 17.3 points against his former club despite shooting only 35.4 percent from the field in those three games.

The Bucks could have a particularly hard time avoiding the sweep given the venue of Wednesday's finale. The Cavaliers are a league-best 26-1 at home, where they've won 10 of their last 11 against Milwaukee.

The Bucks certainly didn't look ready to take on the NBA's elite Tuesday night, when they gave up 38 fourth-quarter points in a 99-95 home loss to New Jersey. Milwaukee led by as many as 10 points but struggled down the stretch, getting outscored 23-11 in the final 4:01.

The defeat left Milwaukee only a half-game ahead of New Jersey for eighth place in the East. That last playoff spot is highly coveted even though it could mean a first-round playoff matchup with Cleveland.

"Every win and loss right now has added significance," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said.

Milwaukee's fifth loss in seven games overshadowed another strong outing for Charlie Villanueva. The fourth-year forward led the Bucks with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and he's averaging 24.8 points and shooting 50.4 percent from the field over his last six games.

Villanueva has been held to 14.7 points and 35.6 percent (16-for-45) shooting in three games against Cleveland. He delivered his best game in the teams' last meeting Feb. 20, scoring 26 points with 13 rebounds and six assists before getting ejected in the fourth quarter for a confrontation with Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Villanueva's performance wasn't enough, as James scored 55 points - one shy of his career high - in the Cavaliers' 111-103 road victory.