Scanning the blogs and beats following the Magic's 107-106 win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals ...

Third Quarter Collapse: "The Magic are not more talented than the Cavaliers, but tonight, they simply played smarter. They're more versatile, able to lean on Howard in the first half, with Lewis and Turkoglu coming up big in the second. The extent to which Cleveland adjusts defensively may determine the outcome of Game 2. The Cavs hang their hat on their defense, and they can't be happy to look at the boxscore and see Turkoglu's 15-point, 14-assist line, or Lewis' 22-points on 9-of-13 shooting. Given the way the Cavs' offense died in the second half, one wonders if they simply feel like they beat themselves, rather than the Magic beating them."

Fear The Sword: "LeBron James was simply awesome, but he alone cannot beat a team that can get hot in different phases throughout the game because of all the 3-point shooters. James broken his career playoff high, scoring 49 points, but the 4 he left at the line cost the Cavaliers. Hard to blame James, however, since his teammates and bench did little to support him offensively. For much of the 2nd half, it became the Cavaliers of old — give the ball to LeBron and watch him hold the ball for 20 seconds. It didn't work consistently then, and it won't now."

George Diaz, Orlando Sentinel: "Take that Q! The Orlando Magic came into Cleveland to face not only the formidable Cavaliers but a raucous party palace. Quiet, please. Magic 107, Cavaliers 106. As franchise victories go, this one is an instant classic. The Magic looked like they had jet lag for much of the first half, trailing by 15 points at halftime. But bless them, they kept chipping away, not only at the lead, but at the invincible veneer of the Cavaliers."

Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer: "The Cavaliers and LeBron James(notes), it turns out, are human after all. The Cavs got more than they could handle from the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. As expected, the Magic provided a demanding test due to their star center, their deep and talented roster and some awesome outside shooting. What wasn't expected was what happened to the Cavs when the heat turned up. They melted and broke down. As a result, so did their homecourt advantage. Showing the same poise and execution they displayed in Boston over the weekend, the Magic outlasted the Cavs, 107-106, to score a huge first blow. So the Cavs' eight-game playoff win streak is over and so is their air of invincibility, against a team whose confidence is only continuing to grow."

The Offical Dwight Howard Blog: "You would think people would see that by now after the way we fought back against Philly and Boston, but I guess we just have to keep on proving ourselves. But we’re just lil’ old Orlando and nobody is ever going to give us any credit for anything. [...] The funniest thing early in the game was me breaking the goal down. I guess I don’t know my own strength sometimes. I never saw it go down, but I heard the crowd ooooohing and ahhhhing. When I saw it on the replay, I was laughing because I thought it was pretty funny that one of my dunks tore the goal up."

Waiting For Next Year: "The Cavs wasted an opportunity in game one of the Eastern Conference finals, and the news isn’t looking any brighter for the Cavs. LeBron James couldn’t get himself off the court as he was hobbled by what appeared to be leg cramps. He finally made his way off the court with a stream of blood running down his shin and the painful look of unfamiliar defeat on his face. It was a depressing finish to an awful second half for the Cavs. Knowing this Cavalier squad, they will be chomping at the bit to get back into action on Friday night. There will be no excuses as the refereeing seemed to go hot and cold for both teams throughout the night. In the end the Magic played a better defensive game when it mattered most as the Cavs’ offense grew stagnant in the second half."

Orlando Magic Daily: "To me, this win wasn’t about the Cavaliers not being tested, the crowd being taken out of it or LeBron James running out of gas. All those things are true, yes — but this game was all about the Magic proving they know how to win. Proving they have the mental fortitude, the team cohesion and the resiliency to win under any circumstance. You can never count the Magic out. Ever. And that’s amazing to say, because you’ve never been able to trust this Magic team to close out a win, no matter what the circumstance. Ever."

Cavs: The Blog: "If the Cavs could've pulled this one out, we'd get to mythologize this game and salivate over what we just saw for the next full day, and this would've gone into the record books as one of the truly amazing games of his career, which is to say one of the most amazing games of any career. [...] We now have to look at those three free throws LeBron missed in the fourth, to say that he maybe should've pulled up for the jumper instead of letting the double-team come and letting the ball get forced from his hands. It's not fair. But that's basketball, and life. This is one of the best games I've ever seen played by an individual. But for all history cares, he might've well gone 0-for-30."

Kyle Hightower, OS Blog: "Why didn’t the King take the final shot? With his team trailing 107-106 with 14.7 seconds left, James looked to be setting up an isolation to take the Cavs’ final shot, but the ball wound up in Delonte West’s(notes) hands in the corner. He missed a 25-footer and in the scramble triggered a jump ball and the game’s final heave by Mo Williams(notes). James said the play was designed for him to drive and give them a chance on an offensive rebound. But he said like any other time this season he decided to kick it out to the perimeter when he saw single coverage on two guys. It was a bold move, but is proof that he isn’t scared to live with teammates taking shots."

Steve Aschburner, SI: "Van Gundy got some nice mileage out of Mickael Pietrus(notes) as a defensive option on James, which allowed Hedo Turkoglu(notes) to devote more energy to offense (15 points, 14 assists) while keeping him out of foul trouble. He also was able to cover James' point total with just two Magic starters; Lewis and Howard combined for 52. Still, letting James get his remains a risky strategy. 'If that were my formula, it still got them 107 points and great shooting,' Orlando coach [Van Gundy] told reporters afterward. 'The one thing I don't leave this game with is any idea what to do with him, whatsoever. You'd like to come out of Game 1 and say, at least we found a game plan that will work. We can't say that.'"

Britt Robson: "... let me cite the comments of Charles Barkley, who bravely predicted a Magic series win, and whose words I'm suddenly more interested in hearing. Sir Charles thinks Z Ilgauskus is a terrible matchup here; too old and slow to handle Howard in the paint and to get out and guard the sharpshooting forwards Lewis and Turkoglu on the pick and roll. Six hours ago I would have dismissed that logic. Now I have to consider it. But then I look at the stat sheet, and see that big Z was a game-best plus +12 in 32:03 of a one-point loss, and I see that Ben Wallace(notes) was minus -14 in 9:47. I think that Cleveland lost due to a toxic combination of overconfidence, rust, and a physical and psychological unfamiliarly with genuine crunchtime basketball this postseason. This certainly wasn't the Cavs' team I saw all season long. They weren't getting back in transition and consequently seemed totally unprepared for the kick-outs for treys off the fast break, preoccupied with trying to stop the guy with the ball because they didn't have the numbers to man up."

Sports On My Mind: "James’ play in the game’s final 24 minutes amounted to the type of tactical error made by a player who privately feels the pressure of a series in which his team is scheduled to win handily, where he is to establish himself as not just a unique player, but a truly transcendent performer on the basketball court, and is unsure as to exactly how to handle the weight of the external pressure. Conversely Orlando played like a team confident in knowing that in 48 minutes of basketball the flow of the game will eventually come their way. The Magic learned this patience from their previous series with Boston where they ground down the Kevin Garnett(notes)-less Celtics; biding their time waiting for Boston to inevitably tire so they could sweep the Cees from the playoffs."

Talk Hoops: "During a timeout in which the Cavs were in full-fledged 'I can't believe we're blowing a double-digit lead at home' mode, Stan Van Gundy shrilly screamed to his guys, 'They don't know about this. We do.' And all of a sudden the tables were turned. Not just in this game. But possibly for the entire playoffs. Maybe that's overstating a first game loss with probably six more games in the series. Maybe that's making too much of a fuss over the Cavs finally losing a game at home and in the playoffs all in one fell choke job. The Cavs went from exuding their physical prowess and calling out the Magic to pissing contests. They were dropping jumpers and tossing shots left and right. They were taking care of the ball and controlling the boards. Everything was perfect as Mo Williams nailed a 65-footer to end the half and put Cleveland up 15. It was another blowout victory in the bag for the 'Chosen One' and his crew. And then, Orlando decided that enough was enough."

The Baseline: "That didn't feel like an upset, did it? Maybe I'm crazy for saying that, but there's little reason to think that 1) Dwight Howard(notes) can't be a force through three quarters; 2) the Magic, a team drowning in 3-point marksmen, can't get their long-range game going; 3) Hedo Turkoglu (pictured), one of the league's most underrated players, can't do a little bit of everything. That’s Orlando’s game plan, and while it's easy to joke about it or see the team as flawed, the Magic have the talent to make it work. Yes, they’d be even better with Jameer Nelson(notes), who really stitched the whole thing together, and sometimes you get the feeling that you’re watching a Rube Goldberg device unfold over four quarters. When it works, though, as it did tonight, it’s hard to argue."

Dime: "Can’t chalk it up to rust; the Cavs came out firing on all cylinders right from the get-go, and dominated the Magic for most of the first three quarters. Can’t chalk it up to lack of focus; LeBron in particular was completely locked in, about as intense as we’ve ever seen him in a game. And you definitely can’t chalk it up to the zebras; Cleveland (and again, LeBron in particular) got just about every call that could’ve gone their way ... No, the Cavs just lost, blowing a game they controlled most of the way in a building where they’ve been almost invincible this season, dropping Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for their first loss of the postseason and only their third loss at home."

Related: The Internets are alive, 2009 NBA Playoffs