James’ 43 Points Lead the Cavaliers

LeBron James barely got to play at the Summer Olympics. On Wednesday night in Cleveland, he showed Larry Brown, coach of the U.S. team, that that may have been a big mistake.

Perhaps trying to prove Brown was wrong to bench him in Greece, James scored a career-high 43 points with six rebounds and five assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 92-76 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Jeff McInnis scored 16 points as the Cavaliers easily handled Brown’s NBA team and won for the seventh time in eight games.

James and Brown said before the game that they had no hard feelings toward each other.

Of James’ effort on Wednesday, Brown said: “I was proud of him. He took one bad shot. It’s as good a performance as I’ve seen.”

San Antonio 94, Dallas 80 -- Tim Duncan scored 27 points, and the host Spurs held the Mavericks to three-for-17 shooting in the fourth quarter. Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki returned from a sprained ankle that forced him to sit out most of two games and scored 23 points in 35 minutes.

Miami 99, Atlanta 93 -- Dwyane Wade scored 31 points and had 11 assists to lead the visiting Heat over the Hawks. Shaquille O’Neal and Udonis Haslem each had 21 points for Miami.

Chicago 101, Utah 99 -- Ben Gordon scored a career-high 22 points, including four free throws in the final minute, to lead the Bulls past the host Jazz for their first victory after nine losses.

Phoenix 111, Milwaukee 104 -- The host Suns won their sixth in a row as Shawn Marion had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Steve Nash had 22 points and 12 assists. The Bucks lost for the 17th consecutive time in Phoenix.

Portland 89, Orlando 83 -- Zach Randolph scored 20 of his 27 points after halftime, and Damon Stoudamire had 16 points and eight assists to lead the Trail Blazers on the road.

Seattle 93, Memphis 84 -- Rashard Lewis scored 27 points and had 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 20 points as the SuperSonics defeated the host Grizzlies.

Toronto 114, New York 91 -- Vince Carter scored 22 points, and backup point guard Milt Palacio had a season-high 18 points and seven assists as the Raptors routed the visiting Knicks.

Philadelphia 110, Boston 97 -- Allen Iverson had 28 points and 10 assists, and Josh Davis moved into the starting lineup and scored a career-high 19 points to help the host 76ers end a three-game losing streak.

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Police in Auburn Hills, Mich., have determined that a fourth member of the Indiana Pacers, reserve center David Harrison, was involved in the brawl at Friday’s Indiana-Detroit Piston game. Lt. James Manning said footage of the fight shows it was Harrison who punched John Ackerman, 67, in the stands. Ackerman claimed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that it was Jermaine O’Neal who hit him.

A lawyer and two ex-convicts remained in jail in New York after being arraigned on charges of trying to use a videotape of a fistfight to blackmail Denver Nugget forward Carmelo Anthony for $3 million. Rodrigo Sanchez, 36, a lawyer who lives in South Orange, N.J., and Santos Joubert, 29, and Jason Pabon, 26, both of the Bronx, were held after arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.