James pours in 55 points in Cavs win over Bucks

LeBron James poured in 55 points, including 24 in the third quarter, to lead Cleveland to a 111-103 National Basketball Association victory over Milwaukee yesterday.

With pundits pondering Cleveland's failure to make a major deal at the NBA's trade deadline, James showed that the Cavaliers don't need anyone else.

The Cleveland superstar was 16-of-29 from the floor, including an impressive 8-of-11 from three-point range.

He made 15-of-22 free throws and added nine assists and five rebounds, falling one point short of his career high set March 20, 2005 at Toronto.

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

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

James' outburst came one day after the Cavaliers failed to make a move prior to Thursday's deadline, although the team was rumored to be interested in such players as Shaquille O'Neal and Antawn Jamison.

"LeBron's performance was unbelievable," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "I'm really speechless with what he did out there in the third quarter. I've been around him four years, and I get amazed with the things he does."

With Cleveland trailing by six points at halftime, the third quarter belonged to James.

He made four straight three-pointers - around a pair of missed free throws - as Cleveland went on a 24-4 burst to open the frame and take a 75-61 lead with 7:43 left in the period. James scored 17 points during the run.

"I just got in a zone," James said. "I saw a few go down so I just kept at it. Every shot I made, every shot that we made tonight, we needed it. It was a tough test for us tonight. We were happy we were able to come away with a win."

Milwaukee fought back and eventually tied the game at 82-82 before Cleveland regained the lead, taking an 86-82 advantage into the fourth.

James was 8-for-11 from the floor in the quarter, including 5-of-6 from the three-point line.

The Bucks cut the deficit to one early in the fourth, but the Cavaliers proved too strong in the stretch.