James’ big game offsets Pierce’s 50

LeBron James and the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers spoiled the highest-scoring game by a Boston Celtics’ player in more than 16 years.

James had 43 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season and the Cavaliers overcame Paul Pierce’s 50-point performance to beat the Celtics 113-109 in double overtime on Wednesday night at Boston.

Pierce shot 17 for 36 from the field and 16 for 20 from the free-throw line to become the first Celtic to score 50 since Larry Bird had 50 on Nov. 10, 1989.

76ers 103, Spurs 100 (OT): At Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 42 points and Chris Webber added 21, including a key pair of free throws in overtime, to help Philadelphia beat San Antonio.

Mavericks 103, Wizards 97: At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and Dallas (41-11) beat Washington for its 11th consecutive home win, taking over the best record in the Western Conference going into the All-Star break.

Nets 95, Bobcats 94: At Charlotte, N.C., Vince Carter tipped in his miss with 9.6 seconds left to allow New Jersey to defeat Charlotte and snap a seven-game road losing streak.

Knicks 98, Raptors 96: At New York, Jamal Crawford made a jumper with 3 seconds left and New York snapped a 10-game losing streak by edging Toronto.

Hawks 114, Lakers 110: At Los Angeles, Josh Smith had 21 points and 15 rebounds to match his career bests, and Atlanta held off Los Angeles to snap a 23-game road losing streak to Western Conference teams.

Warriors 88, Clippers 81: At Oakland, Calif., Derek Fisher had 20 points and nine assists to help Golden State end a seven-game losing streak to Los Angeles.

Suns 116, Nuggets 101: At Denver, Shawn Marion had 21 points and 12 rebounds and Raja Bell added 20 points to help Phoenix beat Denver in a matchup of division leaders.

Hornets 102, Trail Blazers 86: At Oklahoma City, Kirk Snyder scored 22 points to lead New Orleans to a win over Portland, but the Hornets lost star rookie Chris Paul to a shoulder injury.

Grizzlies 84, Kings 78: At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Memphis over Sacramento.

Heat 110, Magic 100: At Orlando, Fla., Dwyane Wade had 36 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lift Miami over Orlando.

Pacers 88, Bucks 77: At Indianapolis, Anthony Johnson scored 24 points and Peja Stojakovic had 16 of his 20 points in the second half to help Indiana beat Milwaukee.

Off the court

Detroit gave up on Darko Milicic, trading the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft to Orlando along with Carlos Arroyo for a first-round selection and center Kelvin Cato. Detroit drafted Milicic three years ago after LeBron James and ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. But Milicic barely played as the Pistons won an NBA title, almost repeated last year and have compiled the best record this season. … Portland fined guard Sebastian Telfair after a loaded gun was found on the team’s private jet at Boston’s Logan Airport.