Los Angeles - Lebron James put on a shooting exhibition that even had his coach in awe.

James exploded for 55 points - one off his career-high - leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Milwaukee Bucks 111-103 on Friday night.

The superstar connected on 15 of 22 shots, including 8 of 11 from behind the three-point arc en route to his seventh career game of 50 points or more

"This was probably one of the top two performances in my career besides the Palace in Game Five," said James, referring to his 48-point game in the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.

"But you can never compare a playoff game to a regular-season game."

He had 25 points by halftime, but the Cavs trailed by six. However, "the king" proceeded to hold court, pouring in 24 in the third quarter, including 16 in the first 2:50 to help the visitors take the lead.

"I just got in the zone, said James, who made 8 of 11 shots, including 5 of 6 threes in the period.

"I saw a few go down, so I just kept going at it. Every shot that I made tonight, every shot that we all made tonight, we needed."

Cavaliers' coach Mike Brown was astounded by James' sensational shooting display in that third period.

"What an unbelievable performance by LeBron in the third quarter," he said. "I've been around him all four years, and I get amazed sometimes at the things he does. That was spectacular."

However, while James was on fire, Charlie Villanueva, who led the Bucks with 26 points and 13 rebounds, lost his cool.

The Cavs led 92-89 with just under seven minutes left when Villanueva sent pesky Anderson Varejao crashing to the floor with a hard foul. Zydrunas Ilgauskas came over to confront Villanueva, but the Bucks' star put both his hands around his neck as a shoving match ensued.

Officials quickly separated the two. Villanueva was charged with a flagrant foul 2 foul and an automatic ejection. Ilgauskas was also initially tossed as well, however, after reviewing the tape, referees changed it to a technical foul.

"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."

The Bucks drew within 95-92 on a dunk by Richard Jefferson with 6:23 remaining. However, three-pointers by Ilgauskas and Mo Williams and a jumper by James in an 8-0 run, opened up an 11-point cushion, and the Cavs held on for the road win.

Elsewhere:

LA Lakers 115, New Orleans Hornets 111 (OT)

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 39 points in overtime, Spaniard Pau Gasol had 20 with 12 rebounds, and the league-best Lakers (45-10) won for the 14th time in the last 16 games.

Rasual Butler led New Orleans (33-21) with 31 points while Chris Paul added 21 with 16 assists.

Phoenix Suns 140, Oklahoma City Thunder 118

Brazilian Blur" Leandro Barbosa poured in a career-high 41 points in place of injured Amare Stoudemire, and the Suns became the first team since the 1990 Portland Trail Blazers to score at least 140 points in three consecutive games.

Earlier in the day, Stoudemire had surgery to repair a partially detached retina in his right eye that could keep the All-Star forward out for the rest of the regular season.

Kevin Durant topped Oklahoma City with 35 points.

New York Knicks 127, Toronto Raptors 97

Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 32 points, Nate Robinson had 26 and the Knicks matched their entire victory total of last season (23) with their most lopsided win of the campaign.

Chicago Bulls 116, Denver Nuggets 99

Ben Gordon tallied a season-high 37 points, Luol Deng added 22 with 12 rebounds, and the Bulls snapped the visiting Nugget's three-game winning streak.

Washington Wizards 107, New Jersey Nets 96

Antawn Jamison had 28 points with 12 rebounds and as the lowly Wizards (13-42) posted back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.

Devin Harris had 26 points and 10 assists for New Jersey, losers of five in a row.

Houston Rockets 93, Dallas Mavericks 86

Yao Ming had 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Aaron Brooks scored 19, including a key three-pointer with 24 seconds left, leading the Rockets past the visiting Mavericks.

Jose Barea scored a career-high 26 points for the Mavericks and Josh Howard added 21.

Orlando Magic 92, Charlotte Bobcats 80

Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points, newly-acquired Rafer Alston dished out eight assists, helping the Magic beat the Bobcats.

Sacramento Kings 115, Memphis Grizzlies 106

Kevin Martin scored 33 points, and the league-worst Kings (12-44) stopped a six-game losing streak.

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

Indiana Pacers 112, Minnesota Timberwolves 105

Marquis Daniels scored 24 points while Troy Murphy had 16 and 14 boards as the short-handed Pacers overcame Randy Foye's career-high 36 points.

Portland Trail Blazers 108, Atlanta Hawks 98

Brandon Roy scored 27 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 with 11 rebounds, leading the Trail Blazers to their seventh straight home win. Mike Bibby paced Atlanta with
27 points. (dpa)