James’ 41 points make a statement in Detroit

LeBron James was unstoppable.

He thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers can be too.

James scored a season-high 41 points, leading the visiting Cavaliers to a 101-97 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

“If we play well, nobody can beat us,” James said. “We believe that.”

James almost won it in regulation with a 27-footer, but a video review showed it didn’t beat the buzzer.

He set the tone early in the overtime, making free throws and rejecting Richard Hamilton’s shot with an impressive block in front of the rim.

Cleveland pulled within two games of Detroit for the top spot in the Central Division and Eastern Conference with its fourth win in five games.

Free throws kept Detroit in the game, with the Pistons making 33 of 42 before overtime to the Cavaliers’ nine of 18.

Hamilton scored 29 points for Detroit, which had won the previous two meetings at Cleveland by an average of 14 points.

“The way they handled us so far this year, it was very big to come on their court and get a win,” James said.

Miami 103, Chicago 70 -- The Heat, which never trailed, outscored Chicago, 38-9, over a 15-minute stretch of the second half at Miami.

Shaquille O’Neal had 24 points, nine rebounds and a season-high eight assists and Eddie Jones added 23 points. Ben Gordon, coming off Sunday’s 48 points against Milwaukee, scored 14.

Phoenix 115, Charlotte 106 -- The Suns needed a career-high 32 points from Leandro Barbosa and 19 three-pointers -- one shy of the team record -- to send the visiting Bobcats to their seventh straight loss in overtime.

Barbosa made a career-best seven three-pointers for Phoenix, which lost Amare Stoudemire to an ejection for two technical fouls in the third quarter.

Golden State 110, Denver 96 -- The Warriors took control of the game with a 14-4 run to start the third quarter in beating the Nuggets, who were without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, at Oakland.

Baron Davis had 22 points for the Warriors. Allen Iverson scored 35 for the Nuggets. Anthony stayed in Denver after the birth of his first child.

Utah 94, Indiana 72 -- The Jazz opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run to win its fifth in a row while handing the visiting Pacers their seventh straight loss. Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 16 rebounds for Utah. Indiana lost Jermaine O’Neal to a sore left knee in the third quarter.

Houston 111, Boston 80 -- The Rockets took a 17-point lead early in the second quarter at Boston in ending the Celtics’ four-game winning streak. Tracy McGrady had 25 points for Houston. Al Jefferson had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Boston.

Philadelphia 92, Seattle 89 -- Joe Smith made a jumper with 14.4 seconds left to lift the host 76ers.

Andre Iguodala, who added a free throw before Seattle’s Ray Allen missed on a three-pointer at the buzzer, had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Allen scored 29 for Seattle.

Atlanta 100, Washington 97 -- Playing without leading scorer Joe Johnson (calf) at Atlanta, the Hawks ended a six-game losing streak.

Zaza Pachulia had a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta. Gilbert Arenas scored 28 points for Washington.

Toronto 94, Memphis 87 -- The host Raptors led by as many as 25 points in ending a three-game losing streak. Chris Bosh had 19 points for Toronto.