Dwight Howard's 24 points and nine rebounds Sunday led Orlando's 99-89 win over Cleveland, giving the Magic a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final. Orlando, still smarting from a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by LeBron James Friday, bolted to a 16-6 lead when Rashard Lewis sank a jumper with 6:07 left in the first quarter, but saw its lead dwindle to 42-41 by halftime. Howard sank seven free throws in the fourth to secure the victory before fouling out.

LeBron James made a potential season-saving, 3-point shot at the buzzer Friday that gave Cleveland an amazing 96-95 playoff victory over Orlando. The Cavaliers managed to even the Eastern Conference finals at a game each, just as it appeared they would lose their second straight playoff game after winning their first eight. Cleveland opened a 23-point lead in the first half and seemingly was on its way to an easy victory. Orlando, however, cut its deficit to a dozen by intermission, dominated the second half and stunned the Cavaliers when Hedo Turkoglu made a leaning jumper from the free-throw line with exactly a second remaining to give the Magic a 95-93 lead. After the ensuing time out, James broke away from Turkoglu to get open space just beyond the 3-point line.

A 3-point shot by Rashard Lewis with 14.7 seconds left Wednesday allowed Orlando to overcome an amazing game by LeBron James and defeat Cleveland 107-106. James made 20-of-30 shots from the field, played 40 minutes and scored a career playoff high 49 points. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers lost in the playoffs for the first time this season in the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals and now face a tough battle against a team that rallied from a 15-point deficit at intermission. Mo Williams made a shot from beyond midcourt at the buzzer of the second quarter to give the Cavaliers a 63-48 halftime lead, but Orlando limited Cleveland to 19 points in the third period and entered the fourth quarter trailing by only four. James, who suffered leg cramps in the game's final moments, scored the last of his points with 26 seconds to go -- hitting a layup and a free throw for a 106-104 lead. Lewis then hit his shot from long range that left him with 22 points for the game. After a time out,

LeBron James had 29 points, four rebounds and seven assists Sunday to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-76 rout of the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics. Cleveland made a powerful statement by storming out to a 31-9 lead after the first period.

LeBron James and Mo Williams combined for 64 points Thursday and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 119-111 win over Phoenix. The Suns have lost six in a row and fallen out of realistic contention for a playoff berth in the Western Conference. James scored 34 points and Williams had five rebounds to go with his 30 points.