Late post:

Eastern Conference:

Orlando 95 - Cleveland 96

LeBron James redefines "The Shot." (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Series tied 1-1

• “The Shot,” Michael Jordan’s jumper over the Cav’s Criag Ehlo in 1989, was the most famous buzzer-beater in Cleveland sports history. But not anymore. With one second left on the clock, LeBron James redefined “The Shot.” This year’s MVP made a three pointer over the outstretched arms of Hedo Turkoglu and a rushing Rashard Lewis to save the game, and possible Cleveland’s season. “That guy is not in the league any more,” James said of Jordan. “The other ‘23’ is gone, so we don’t have to worry about that no more… Twenty-three is on the good side now,” James said after the game. The Cavs now head into Orlando tied 1-1, avoiding a 0-2 hole against the Magic, who have exploited mismatches all series long.
• Cleveland got a spark from Sasha Pavlovic, who had 9 points off the bench, but the rest of the Cavaliers mostly struggled once again. Mo Williams (19 points on 7-21 shooting) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (12 points on 5-13 shooting, 15 rebounds) were able to come up with late baskets to keep the Cavs in it, but it seemed all for naught when the Magic’s Turkoglu made a tough jumper to put Orlando up two with 1 second left. Then came LeBron James’ heroics on a tough inbounds pass from Williams. Delonte West added 12 points for Cleveland.
• Hedo Turkoglu, who was poised to be the hero for the Magic in this game before The Shot by LeBron, had 21 points (9-17 shooting) and 4 assists (a much smaller number than the double digit assist numbers he’s posted in his last two games). Rashard Lewis had 23 points (6-15 shooting) and 5 rebounds, and rookie Courtney Lee had some big baskets in the fourth, and finished with 11 points. Dwight Howard only had 10 points on 3-8 shooting, but added 18 rebounds and 2 blocks. He’ll have to play better in the next games, to hopefully free up things more for Lewis and Turkoglu. Mickael Pietrus added 10 points (with 2 treys) and 2 blocks off the bench.
• This had to be a heartbreaking loss for Orlando, and coach Stan Van Gundy has put the blame on himself for the last defensive play. Rafer Alston has also played poorly in this series so far, and he’ll have to step it up to give his team a boost. The Magic now head into their home court for the next two games, and they can build on their performance from the first two games. They were down by double digits at the half in both games, but came back to win the first, and nearly go 2-0 in the second. They’ve got the Cavaliers on their heels, and they shouldn’t be discouraged by a great shot by a great player, but work harder to avoid another huge halftime deficit and having to play catch up in the second half. Dwight Howard said, “I know I won’t be able to sleep and the rest of my teammates won’t be able to sleep. But we’ve got to get over it. The series is tied 1-1 and we know what to do to beat this team.”
• Cleveland has so far escaped a 0-2 hole, but they can’t keep on riding LeBron all series long. They need more from Mo Williams and Delonte West, as the Cavs’ bench has been pretty much exposed in this series. Pavlovic provided a surprising spark for Cleveland, but they’ll need better performances against the deeper Magic. This ain’t the Pistons and Hawks anymore - the Magic are legit, and here to fight. If they can’t manage a series win, then LeBron’s big shot will be all for naught.