Cleveland ? LeBron James barely got to play at the Summer Olympics. On Wednesday night, he showed Larry Brown 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 win over the Detroit Pistons.

“He didn’t say anything to us,” Cavs guard Jeff McInnis said. “But I think he wanted to stick it to him. I think in the back of his mind that’s what he wanted to do.”

McInnis added 16 points as the Cavaliers easily handled the defending NBA champions and won for the seventh time in eight games.

The Pistons were shorthanded, playing without center Ben Wallace, who served the third game of his six-game suspension for brawling with the Indiana Pacers. But even with Wallace, Detroit may not have been able to stop James.

This was his night.

“That’s as good as I’ve seen,” Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. “All I know he was great, not good, he was great. We just don’t have enough superlatives to give this guy.”

The NBA’s reigning rookie of the year scored 21 points in the first half and 12 in the third quarter when he assisted on Cleveland’s two other field goals.

In the fourth, after Detroit pulled within 10, James made consecutive three-pointers, punctuating the second with a wag of his tongue as the Cavaliers went up by 16.

Detroit's Tayshaun Prince, left, pressures Cleveland's LeBron James. James scored 43 points against the Pistons in a 92-76 win on Wednesday night in Cleveland.

James was taken out with 2:03 left to a rousing ovation and the Cavaliers up 87-71. At that point, the rest of the Cavaliers had scored 44 points to his 43.

“Fantastic,” said Cavs forward Robert Traylor. “That’s the only word I can think of to describe it. I don’t know if he had something to prove, but he came to play. He’s one of those guys who sets his mind to it and takes his game to another level.”

Suns 111, Bucks 104

Phoenix — Shawn Marion and Steve Nash had double-doubles, helping Phoenix win its season-high sixth straight game. Marion had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Nash had 22 points and 12 assists. Quentin Richardson added 20 points, Amare Stoudemire 16, Joe Johnson 13 and Leandro Barbosa, Nash’s backup, had a season-high 12. The Suns have defeated Milwaukee 17 consecutive times in Phoenix.1.

Spurs 94, Mavericks 80

San Antonio — Tim Duncan scored 27 points and San Antonio held Dallas to 3-for-17 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Spurs won their 18th straight regular-season home game. Dirk Nowitzki, listed as doubtful after spraining his left ankle Sunday in Denver, scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 35 minutes.

Raptors 114, Knicks 91

Toronto — Vince Carter scored 22 points and backup point guard Milt Palacio had a season-high 18 points and seven assists as Toronto routed New York. Palacio came within two points of his career high.

76ers 110, Celtics 97

Philadelphia — Jim O’Brien shook up his lineup and defeated his former team once again. Allen Iverson had 28 points and 10 assists, and Josh Davis moved into the starting lineup and added a career-high 19 points to help Philadelphia snap a three-game losing streak with a win over Boston.

Heat 99, Hawks 93

Atlanta — Dwyane Wade scored 31 points, handed out 11 assists and had the most spectacular defensive play of the night, leading Miami past Atlanta. Wade just missed the first triple-double of his career, also pulling down eight rebounds. Shaquille O’Neal and Udonis Haslem each had 21 points for Miami,.

Blazers 89, Magic 83

Orlando, Fla. — Zach Randolph scored 20 of his 27 points after halftime and Damon Stoudamire had 16 points and eight assists to lead Portland over Orlando. Randolph twice hit a tie-breaking basket in the final three minutes, and his free throws with 34 seconds remaining put the game away.

Sonics 93, Grizzlies 84

Memphis, Tenn. — Rashard Lewis scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen added 20 points despite a poor shooting night as Seattle defeated Memphis. Seattle, which shot poorly and never led in the first half, started connecting in the third period. The Sonics were 14-of-22, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, to build a 14-point lead.

Late Tuesday Game

Warriors 115, Hornets 109, 3OT

Oakland, Calif. — Speedy Claxton scored 21 points, including five free throws in the final 15 seconds of the third overtime, to help Golden State beat New Orleans. Calbert Cheaney scored four of his 18 points in the third 5-minute period, and Jason Richardson had 26 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who beat a Western Conference team for the first time in eight tries this season.

Jamaal Magloire matched his career best with 27 points and had a season-high 14 rebounds to lead the Hornets, who beat Utah on Monday night for their first win of the season.

David Wesley scored a season-high 22 points in helping the Hornets overcome a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit.

The Hornets led for most of the first overtime thanks to Wesley’s 3-pointer but Mike Dunleavy hit a three with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 95 and send it to a second overtime.

In the second extra period, there was five lead changes before Magliore made one of two free throws to force a third overtime.