In a game between two of basketball's best teams, it was the crowd that players were talking about afterwards.

Los Angeles Lakers' fans tossed dozens of foam hands -- and at least one water bottle -- on to the court in disgust at the officiating of a physical game Friday as the Cleveland Cavaliers downed the defending NBA champions 102-87.

"The only thing that you hope doesn't happen is one of the players getting hit or a referee getting hit, especially by a full water bottle," said Cleveland's LeBron James.

"When that came on the court, it was coming pretty fast. You don't want that to happen because it could definitely hurt somebody. Luckily no one got hurt, and that's a good thing."

The fans were driven to throw up their hands -- not the usual foam No. 1 fingers, but a representation of two puppet hands making the "LA" symbol in a tie-in to Nike's LeBron-and-Kobe Bryant marketing campaign -- by Lamar Odom's ejection with 4:04 to play. After Bryant received the Lakers' fifth technical with 3:45 left, more hands took flight -- along with that water bottle.

"I've never seen an L.A. crowd react like this before," said coach Phil Jackson, whose bench drew a second technical after Odom's ejection for failing to produce a substitute quickly enough.

"I like their enthusiasm. I don't like their demonstrative manner. ... It wasn't a well-refereed game, it wasn't a very well-played game, so I think it was a reaction to that."

Elsewhere in the NBA it was: Miami 93 New York 87; Boston 86 Orlando 77; Phoenix 124 L.A. Clippers 93; and Portland 107 Denver 96.

At Los Angeles, Mo Williams scored 28 points and James added 26, while Shaquille O'Neal had five dunks among his 11 points in his latest return to Staples Center.

The Cavaliers dominated the Lakers with sharp shooting and physical defence, prompting several technical fouls and retaliation hits -- and that was before the crowd lost its holiday spirit by returning their pre-game presents.

"If you want to throw something, at least throw something that isn't going to hurt," Bryant said. "So I guess that (foam) was the best situation."

Nineteen seconds after the first incident, a water bottle skittered between players without hitting anyone. Cleveland coach Mike Brown said he saw another bottle in flight.

"It'll be interesting to see what happens in the future with the NBA, where that can't take place," Brown said. "I don't know what the roles are. When water bottles start flying, does it mean it's a tech, or what? But it's a scary thing when water bottles and other objects start coming on the floor like they did today."

Bryant scored 35 points for the Lakers, who had won 16 of 17 before Cleveland's decisive victory behind Williams, James and the Cavs' impressive interior play, which negated the Lakers' usual advantages down low.

"We know that we can match up well with anybody," O'Neal said. "I felt that it was going to be a good test for us. The Lakers are the best team in the league, they have won it before, and they have a lot of experience playing together. We're somewhat a new group ... but today we came out and stepped up to the challenge."

O'Neal's returns to Los Angeles, where he teamed with Bryant to win three titles in Staples Center's first three seasons, no longer include the obligatory questions about whether Kobe could finally win a title without Shaq, who got boos and cheers during pre-game introductions.

"He definitely had a presence in the game," Jackson said. "I do know it was a factor on Kobe. (Shaq) knocked him down about four times without a call."

With Williams leading the way in his third straight impressive road game, the Cavs forced Bryant and the Lakers into their least impressive performance in six weeks. The loss dropped the Lakers (23-5) back into a tie with Boston atop the overall NBA standings.

If this was an NBA finals preview of the matchup that many expected to materialize last summer before Orlando crashed the party, the Lakers should be wary. Cleveland's big men -- O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao -- allowed them to neutralize seven-foot starters Andrew Bynum, who managed just four points, and Pau Gasol, who had 11.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are tough to guard when James' teammates hit their outside shots with Williams' accuracy. James wasn't omnipresent, but played well enough to force Ron Artest to foul out with 5:01 to play.

The Cavaliers made certain nobody will forget about them in the Eastern Conference race, where Boston and Orlando have dominated the discussion leading up to the Celtics' win over the Magic earlier Friday.

"It wasn't about sending a message to them," James said. "It was about sending a message to ourselves and seeing how we match up with the best team in the NBA at this point. It was a good road win for us. I think it ranks up there, just because of the calibre of the team and the calibre of the players they have."

Heat 93 Knicks 87

At New York, Dwyane Wade had 30 points and nine rebounds to help Miami spoil the Knicks' return to Christmas competition and end their three-game winning streak.

Michael Beasley added 13 of his 19 points after halftime for the Heat, who opened a comfortable lead by limiting New York to 31 points across the middle two quarters. Then Miami held on after the Knicks finally got on track in the final minutes.

Jermaine O'Neal finished with 11 points and eight boards, making a jumper with 51 seconds left after Miami's lead had been sliced to three points.

---

Celtics 86 Magic 77

At Orlando, Fla., Rajon Rondo had 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Celtics bullied the Magic with strong defence.

Ray Allen added 18 points and Tony Allen scored 16 in place of the injured Paul Pierce for the Celtics, who rolled to their 14th win in the last 15 games.

The only big blow for the Celtics came in the final minutes, when Kevin Garnett jumped to block a shot by Vince Carter only to land awkwardly and go tumbling to the ground. He hobbled back to the bench holding his back and didn't return.

---

Suns 124 Clippers 93

At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points to help the Suns beat Los Angeles Clippers for the sixth straight time.

Jared Dudley and J.R. Richardson each added 18 points for the Suns in their most lopsided victory this season.

Rasual Butler scored 22 points for the Clippers.

---

Trail Blazers 107 Nuggets 96

At Portland, Ore., Brandon Roy had 41 points and Steve Blake added a season-high 17 to lead the Trail Blazers to a win over Denver.

Roy, who missed Wednesday's win at San Antonio, had 25 points in the first half and made a career-high 16 field goals for Portland, which has won four straight and six of seven despite a spate of injuries. Blake hit five three-pointers, including three in the final 4:05 as the Blazers pulled away.

Andre Miller had 14 points and eight rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge added 10 points and 13 rebounds for Portland.