The Orlando Magic is win away from reaching the NBA Finals, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and their superstar, LeBron James, are one loss from having their dream season end in nightmarish fashion.
Dwight Howard scored 27 points — including 10 in the game’s extra period — and Rafer Alston added a career playoff-high 26 points Tuesday night as the Magic beat the Cavaliers 116-114 in overtime to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
“This thing is a long, long, long way from over,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “When you’ve got a guy as great as him on the other side, you’re a long way from done.”
James, who finished with 44 points, had one last chance to win the game in overtime, but his three-point attempt from about 40 feet as time expired clanged off the left side of the rim.
The Magic made 17 of 38 of its three-point attempts — 44.7 percent — including one from Rashard Lewis in the left corner with 4.1 seconds left in regulation that gave Orlando a 100-98 lead.
After a Cleveland timeout, James took the ensuing inbound pass, drove toward the basket and drew a blocking foul against Orlando’s Mickael Pietrus with 0.5 seconds remaining. With Amway Arena’s sellout crowd of 17,461 booing, James hit both shots to tie the score.
On the following inbound play, the Magic tried to have Hedo Turkoglu pass the ball to Howard near the Cleveland hoop. Howard and Anderson Varejao got tangled up without Howard catching the ball, leaving Orlando fans calling for a foul that never came.
James’ 44 points came on 13-of-29 shooting, and Cleveland point guard Mo Williams, who had guaranteed on Monday that the Cavaliers would win the series, added 18 points but made just five of his 15 shots.
The Cavaliers turned the ball over four times in overtime.
“It hurt a lot,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.
Lewis finished with 17 points; Turkoglu had 15.
The teams combined for 50 fouls Tuesday night.
Game 5 is set for Thursday night in Cleveland, where the Magic has won three of the last five games between the teams. With a victory, Orlando would earn its second trip to the NBA Finals and its first since 1995.
Layups: The NBA fined Lakers coach Phil Jackson $25,000 for his public criticisms of the referees following Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. The Lakers organization was also fined $25,000. … Kevin Garnett had surgery Tuesday on his right knee after missing all of the playoffs. He had bone spurs removed during the arthroscopic surgery.
![When it comes to writing a demand note, bank robbers tend to follow a certain unspoken etiquette of brevity and clarity. But that’s not what happened in downtown Chicago earlier this week, when federal prosecutors say a man walked into the Chase Bank building at 10 S. Dearborn St. and handed a note to a teller that may have set records for length and variety of literary themes. “Give me as much money possible!!” read the note on lined paper in a neat, looping script that used bubbles to dot the “I’s.” “No more then $2000.” It was a simple […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-kendall-jones-bank-robbery-01_187917143.jpg?w=455 "When it comes to writing a demand note, bank robbers tend to follow a certain unspoken etiquette of brevity and clarity. But that’s not what happened in downtown Chicago earlier this week, when federal prosecutors say a man walked into the Chase Bank building at 10 S. Dearborn St. and handed a note to a teller that may have set records for length and variety of literary themes. “Give me as much money possible!!” read the note on lined paper in a neat, looping script that used bubbles to dot the “I’s.” “No more then $2000.” It was a simple […]")
