MILWAUKEE — LeBron James heaved a 33-foot shot through the net to beat the buzzer and headed into halftime with 25 points under his belt.

Turns out, he was just getting warmed up.

James erased the Cleveland Cavaliers' halftime deficit by scoring 16 points in less than three minutes to begin the third quarter, on his way to 55 for the night — one shy of his career high — in a 111-103 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks last night.

"Just got in the zone, man," James said. "I saw a few go down, so I just kept going at it, man. Every shot that I made tonight, every shot that we all made tonight, we needed."

James' big night included his remarkable run in the first 2:50 of the third quarter, almost single-handedly turning a six-point halftime deficit into an eight-point Cavaliers lead. And he could have scored two more in that stretch if he hadn't missed a pair of free throws.

"It was almost like watching a video game," Zydrunas Ilgauskas said.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown fought the urge to cringe as James kept taking long-range 3 after long-range 3, each shot seemingly longer than the next.

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

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 on Cleveland's 18-4 third quarter run that began with Mo Williams' steal and layup. The rest was all James.

"I always have fun," James said. "That's the name of the game for me. I'm out there competing, wanting to continue to get better every day."

SUNS 140, THUNDER 118

Leandro Barbosa, starting in place of injured Amare Stoudemire, poured in a career-high 41 points as host Phoenix became the first team since 1990 to score at least 140 points in three consecutive games.

WIZARDS 107, NETS 96

Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 12 rebounds and visiting Washington beat New Jersey to win consecutive games for only the second time this season.

MAGIC 92, BOBCATS 80

Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points and Rafer Alston had eight assists hours after officially joining the Magic from Houston, as visiting Orlando routed Charlotte.

KNICKS 127, RAPTORS 97

Wilson Chandler scored 32 points, Nate Robinson added 26, and host New York Knicks matched its victory total from last season (23) with a rout of Toronto.

ROCKETS 93, MAVERICKS 86

Aaron Brooks scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 24 seconds left for a 92-86 lead as host Houston held off Dallas.

PACERS 112, TIMBERWOLVES 105

Marquis Daniels filled in for injured All-Star Danny Granger just fine, scoring 24 points and leading visiting Indiana past Minnesota.

KINGS 115, GRIZZLIES 106

Kevin Martin scored 33 points to lead six teammates in double figures, helping visiting Sacramento beat Memphis to snap a six-game losing streak.

BULLS 116, NUGGETS 99

Ben Gordon scored 37 points, and host Chicago, which dressed only eight players, because of Thursday's trades, made 31 of 34 free throws to beat Denver.

TRAIL BLAZERS 108, HAWKS 98

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds as Portland beat Atlanta to improve to 22-5 at the Rose Garden with its seventh straight home victory.

LAKERS 115, HORNETS 111

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 39 points in overtime, helping host Los Angeles end New Orleans' NBA-record streak of 13 consecutive overtime victories.

NOTES

Jazz owner Miller dies: Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller died at his home from complications of type 2 diabetes at age 64, team officials said in a statement yesterday. Miller started his career in an auto parts shop, then built a car dealership empire, before he bought a 50 percent share of the Jazz as the team appeared on the verge of moving to Miami in 1985. He bought the rest of the team a year later.

Celtics: Forward Kevin Garnett is headed back to Boston to be checked out by the team doctor after injuring his right knee in Thursday's loss to the Utah Jazz. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Garnett's right knee strain will be examined by Dr. Brian McKeon today.

Suns: Phoenix power forward Amare Stoudemire, a starter for the West in Sunday's All-Star Game, underwent eye surgery yesterday and won't be able to resume physical activity for about eight weeks, the Suns said in a news release.