"I've got to make sure that I'm not overcoaching," Brown said. "And I just need to sit down, be quiet, and watch the show like everybody else."

Zydrunas Ilgauskas said it was like watching a video game - but it was all too real for the Bucks, who tried multiple defenders on James but wound up watching helplessly as James simply took an extra step back from the line and let it fly.

"You have a hand in his face and he's shooting the ball two steps behind the 3-point line," Milwaukee's Keith Bogans said. "I mean, what can you do about that?"

And as if that wasn't enough action for one night, Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva was ejected after a heated on-court confrontation with Ilgauskas in the fourth quarter.

Still, James was the main attraction - especially in the first 2:50 of the third quarter.

He banked in a jump shot, then made long 3-pointers on four of the Cavaliers' next five possessions. James finished the scoring flourish with a pull-up jumper on the wing with 9:10 left in the quarter, putting Cleveland up 69-61 and forcing Milwaukee to call timeout.

Despite James' scoring fireworks, the game remained close into the fourth quarter, when an offensive exhibition threatened to turn into a wrestling meet.

With Cleveland leading 92-89 with 6:54 remaining, Villanueva delivered a hard foul on the Cavaliers' Anderson Varejao. Ilgauskas went after Villanueva and a shoving match ensued, with officials assessing a flagrant foul-2 on Villanueva and ejecting him.

Ilgauskas was called for a technical foul and initially was ejected as well, but officials allowed him to stay in after a review.

"I thought the way that he fouled Andy was unnecessary, and I was trying to protect my teammate," Ilgauskas said. "After that, he grabbed me by the throat, the whole melee went down."

Suns 140, Thunder 118

At Phoenix, Leandro Barbosa got the start in place of the injured Amare Stoudemire and scored a career-high 41 points to lead the Suns, who had at least 140 points in their third straight game.

The Suns became the first team in 18 seasons to accomplish the feat as Jason Richardson added 34 points and Shaquille O'Neal. The Portland Trail Blazers did it from Nov. 13-17 in 1990. The Suns did it for the first time in franchise history.

Kevin Durant scored 35 for Oklahoma City.

Lakers 115, Hornets 111, OT

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 39 points in overtime and the Lakers snapped New Orleans' NBA-record streak of 13 consecutive overtime victories.

The Lakers improved the NBA's best record to 45-10 and avenged a 116-105 loss to the Hornets on Jan. 6 that ended a 15-game home winning streak.

Rasual Butler led the Hornets with 31 points.

Knicks 127, Raptors 97

At New York, Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 32 points, Nate Robinson added 26, and the Knicks matched their victory total from last season.

New York can better last season's 23-59 mark under Isiah Thomas with a victory Sunday in Toronto, when newcomers Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox could make their Knicks debuts.

Bulls 116, Nuggets 99

At Chicago, Ben Gordon scored a season-high 37 points to lead short-handed Chicago.

Luol Deng scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Tyrus Thomas added 21 and 12 to give the Bulls their second straight win since dealing four players to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Chauncey Billups scored 25 to lead Denver, which had its three-game winning streak stopped.

Wizards 107, Nets 96

At East Rutherford, N.J., Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Washington won consecutive games for only the second time this season.

Caron Butler added 19 points and Mike James had 10 of his 19 in a 35-point third quarter as the Wizards (13-42) matched their season-high winning streak and handed the Nets their fifth straight loss.

Devin Harris had 26 points and 10 assists for the Nets.

Rockets 93, Mavericks 86

At Houston, Aaron Brooks scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left, and also had eight assists to lead Houston.

Yao Ming had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Luis Scola had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets, who snapped a four-game home losing streak to Dallas.

Jose Barea scored a career-high 26 points for the Mavericks.

Magic 92, Bobcats 80

At Charlotte, N.C., Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points and Rafer Alston had eight assists hours after officially joining the Orlando Magic. Rashard Lewis added 18 points before leaving late after getting hit in the face under the basket for the Magic.

Raymond Felton scored 16 points for the Bobcats.

Kings 115, Grizzlies 106

At Memphis, Tenn., Kevin Martin scored 33 points, Jason Thompson had 17 points and nine rebounds and Sacramento snapped a six-game losing streak.

O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 24 points, and Rudy Gay had 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Pacers 112, Timberwolves 105

At Minneapolis, Marquis Daniels scored 24 points in injured All-Star Danny Granger's place to lead Indiana.

Troy Murphy added 16 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Pacers overcome a career-high 36 points by Randy Foye for Minnesota.

Trail Blazers 108, Hawks 98

At Portland, Ore., LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Brandon Roy had 27 points for the Trail Blazers, who won their seventh straight at home and improved to 22-5 at the Rose Garden.

Mike Bibby scored 27 points for the Hawks.