James’ buzzer-beater lifts Cavaliers over Magic

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer May 23, 1:27 am EDT

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CLEVELAND (AP)—Michael Jordan no longer has the most famous buzzer-beater in Cleveland sports history.

The Shot has been topped.

LeBron James(notes) made one better.

James dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the key over Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu(notes) as the final horn sounded Friday night to give the Cavaliers, their season a heartbeat from major trouble, a 96-95 victory over the Magic that evened the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece.

From 23 feet—matching his jersey number and Jordan’s—James hit a shot that will go down as one of the defining moments in a career that’s just hitting its stride.

“That guy is not in the league any more,” James said of Jordan. “The other 23 is on the good side now.”

Taking the inbounds pass from Mo Williams(notes), James only had time to turn his shoulders toward the rim and fire. As the high-arcing shot dropped through, James sprinted into the arms of his delirious teammates as 20,562 stunned fans hugged in disbelief.

“You couldn’t hear anything but a roar,” James said. “Those fans deserved it. That was the biggest shot I’ve made in my career. A second is a long time for me, for others it’s very short. As a kid you practice those moments.”

In the past, this was the kind of shot that happened against the Cavs. Jordan’s jumper in 1989 over Craig Ehlo eliminated Cleveland from the playoffs— a punch-in-the-stomach moment burned into the psyche of every Cleveland fan.

Well, James is changing everything around here.

Game 3 is Sunday night in Orlando, where the Magic beat the Cavaliers twice this season and thumped them by 29 points on April 3.

One second before James’ shot, Turkoglu hit a 12-footer in the lane to give the Magic, who overcame a 23-point deficit in the first half, a 95-93 lead. Cleveland called a timeout and set up a play for James, the league’s MVP who finished with 35 points.

James darted toward the basket to create some room on Turkoglu and then cut back near the top of the circle before letting loose with the biggest shot in his 24 years. After seeing James’ only 3-pointer of the game fall, Williams dropped to his knees and pounded the floor with his right hand as Quicken Loans Arena shook to its core.

“I was punch drunk,” Williams said. “I was stuck. I couldn’t move.”

Officials looked at the replay to make sure it should count.

There was no doubt.

“We just couldn’t afford to go down 0-2,” James said. “That’s just a great shot. Now we have to get ready for Game 3. There’s a lot to clean up.”

Rashard Lewis(notes) scored 23 points and Turkoglu had 21 for the Magic, who have now lost four games at the buzzer in these playoffs. Dwight Howard(notes) scored 10— 20 below his Game 1 performance—and added 18 rebounds.

Williams had 19 points—on 7-of-21 shooting—and Zydrunas Ilguaskas had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland.

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy was upset with his decision to guard James on the last play.

“That one obviously hurts quite a bit,” he said. “I’d like to have that last one back from a coaching standpoint,” he said. “I should have defended it differently. It’s crushing enough to lose as a coach, but when you feel like you’re the guy who could’ve made the difference, it hurts a lot more.

“I just want to win and we should have won.”

Like the hand powder James famously blows above his head before every game, Cleveland’s season was on the verge of disappearing into thin air.

Their offense out of whack and their defense not up to its usual standards, the Cavaliers let the Magic overcome a huge deficit for the second straight game.

Turkoglu’s 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds left had tied it 93-93, and the Cavs appeared to take the lead on James’ left-handed layup over Howard. But he was called for traveling, one of several calls that could have gone either way in a second half filled with whistles.

“That walk—great call by the refs,” James said, “glad I had a chance to redeem myself.”

Turkoglu’s shot over Sasha Pavlovic(notes), who gave the Cavs a lift off the bench with nine points, had Cleveland fans reliving all those moments of sports heartbreak—Jordan’s Shot, John Elway’s Drive, The Fumble—that have led to the city’s 45-year championship drought.

James, though, the kid from down the Interstate in nearby Akron, restored their confidence that this might finally be Cleveland’s season.

“An amazing player,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “To have the wherewithal to have that type of confidence in yourself, to know there’s one second on the clock and you’re ending this thing right now … not many people could do it. An amazing shot by an amazing player. That’s what great players do.”

Down by 23 in the second quarter the Magic, who won the opener by one point, were within 12 at halftime.

By the end of the third they had cut it to six, and when Lewis backed down Delonte West(notes) and scored on a short jumper with 6:12 left, Orlando had tied it at 84-all.

For a few seconds, it looked as if Turkoglu would be the hero and the Magic would be halfway to their first appearance in the finals since 1995.

James wouldn’t allow it.

“I’m shocked anybody would make that shot,” Howard said. “Everybody is watching. I know I won’t be able to sleep and the rest of my teammates won’t be able to sleep. We’ve got to get over it.”

Notes

In the playoffs, James is averaging 34.7 points on 55 percent shooting. … Howard has had a double-double in all 15 postseason games. … The officials missed what should have been a technical foul on Williams in the first quarter for throwing the ball at Howard’s back. … An elderly man was taken for medical treatment after Williams crashed into him while chasing a loose ball. As the fan was being transported from the floor in a wheelchair, Williams came over and put his arm around him. The man was back in his seat after halftime.

Updated May 23, 1:27 am EDT
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1103 Comments

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  1. adi
    1103. Posted by adi Sun May 24 9:36pm EDT

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    I put an asterisk to that game 2 win of cavaliers.
    the magic did not lose the game because of their defense, much more the cavaliers or lebron wins the game because of this GREAT SHOT EVER. The Orlando lost and Cleveland wins because of the
    referees. Yes the referees are consistent in their calls, they are consistent to call offensive fouls to magic and consistent of not calling offensive fouls to Cleveland. Look at the play when courtney lee drives to the basket up against wallace his basket was nullified because he was called for offensive foul compare it to the driving pavlovic who bump to gortat were he scored a three point play and the cavaliers was given a free throw on technical foul called on gortat and take a look to a driving torkuglo who was called for an offensive foul against varejao and compare it to a driving lebron were he bump shoulder first against howard and makes to free throw. All in all if only the referees are not favoring the cavaliers the magic must have won the game by almost 8 points, the shot by lee must have been a 3point play, there must have been no FT given to lebron and no 3point play for pavlovic and its accompanying technical FT.
    The referees are doing this with the consent of the NBA as a whole.
    I believe the result of that game will certainly affect the mental focus of the magic on the succeeding games knowing they are not goin to win the series considering that even if the cavaliers are not doing well they are still going to win because there three (3) referees to save them. On the floor there are only FIVE Magic up against FIVE + THREE cavaliers.
  2. <i>karlhubrath@...</i>
    1102. Posted by karlhubrath@... Sun May 24 6:34pm EDT

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    I would like to agree and add a thought to the post above my post, please. Micheal Jordon pushed off of Creg Elho to make the shot too. Thank you all for my two cents, God bless and have a wonderful holiday, Karl.
  3. Sumbitch
    1101. Posted by Sumbitch Sun May 24 6:19pm EDT

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    Let's be real.....this series could easily be 2-0 for either team. If Mo hits that little jumper in game 1, the Cavs would be up 2-0 and if James misses LeShot, the Magic would be up 2-0. IF Mo or Delante show up and shoot the ball half as good as they did during the regular season, the Cavs win easy. Cavs in 7!!
  4. Thaddeus
    1100. Posted by Thaddeus Sun May 24 4:24pm EDT

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    the caaaaaaavvvvvvvvvvs rule and orlando is stupid
  5. James D
    1099. Posted by James D Sun May 24 12:01am EDT

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    Makes me laugh whenever I read sports fans' comments after their team gets beat by an amazing play. I'm no hoops fan and I couldn't care less who wins what game. So, from an outsider's POV, that was an amazing shot by an amazing athlete. Why can't some of you accept that your team got beat by a "lucky" shot, or that somehow there was a discrepancy with the shot clock, etc., etc.? Your team got beat because a great player did what he is paid a lot of money to do. If it were your team that won the game thanks to a great play, you'd be making a totally different noise. James's shot is what sports is all about. Win some lose some... often at the hands of an exceptional player.
  6. jivepar
    1098. Posted by jivepar Sat May 23 10:16pm EDT

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    mojito- I didn't say it was not a good shot. I said it was a lucky shot with no pressure. If he had missed, no one is gonna fault him for missing. Now, if got fouled and he makes 3 consecutive foul shots, then that would be clutch. The difference being, he is expected to convert all 3 and surely will get the flak if he misses one.
  7. THAVOICEOFREASON
    1097. Posted by THAVOICEOFREASON Sat May 23 9:35pm EDT

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    No one wants to talk about it so I will.... There is no way a player can catch the ball drop it down and then drop step then shoot in one second!! there I said it.
    The clock guy cheated the game of basketball by not starting the clock when Lebron touched it.

    That's the truth and I am the voice of reason.
  8. joe
    1096. Posted by joe Sat May 23 9:23pm EDT

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    The Magic got dominated the whole 1st half and the Cavs went to sleep on them in the 2nd half just like in game 1. The Magic played so poorly in the first halves of both games that they should have lost both. Just shows that the Cavs can beat them only playing hard for 2 halves. Funny, I haven't seen the Magic put up even a 10 point lead yet, they've had to play catch-up in both games. At least the Cavs know that they can build up a double digit lead as they have in the first half of both games with ease.
  9. Francois B
    1095. Posted by Francois B Sat May 23 8:32pm EDT

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    1100 - Orlando probably shouldn't have assumed no one on the Cavs team would hit a 3 pointer with 1 second left. Losing a game like this in the playoffs hurts big time - going home 2-0 instead of 1-1 is huge. If it goes to game seven they'll remember what shot they needed to guard better. But maybe they recover from this game like they did after Game 5 in Boston (they had the game handed to them on a silver platter and couldn't close it) and show they have what it takes to win in their backyard. At this level it's not who has the best skills but who is more solid mentally. The Cavs sure can't hope to win games like this the whole series.
  10. Francois B
    1094. Posted by Francois B Sat May 23 8:28pm EDT

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    Only one guy could win the game. He's not triple-teamed, go figure. Three guys around him wouldn't allow that shot. They only put one guy, he hits the shot - Derek Fisher did the exact same thing to the Spurs a few years ago. If you want to win a game for sure, 2 points ahead with 1 second left is not enough in the NBA. Cleveland shows they deserve a spot at that stage - one lucky shot does not win a game, you need to be in contention the whole game to make that shot.
  11. JohnnyBlue
    1093. Posted by JohnnyBlue Sat May 23 8:23pm EDT

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    John D, the shot was a hit and win or a miss and lose shot. He got a good look, squared up, and sent u to bed all pissy last nite. He drains underhanded shots from half court on the reg. Give the guy a pat on the back; or admit that Ratard Lewis' game 1 shot was lucky too.
  12. ErikW
    1092. Posted by ErikW Sat May 23 8:20pm EDT

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    Seriously everyone needs to get off Lebron's dick. He made one lucky shot and STOLE a game at home where supposedly there unbeatable. The Magic are the far superior team yet no one is ever giving them credit. We still got home court in this series and I'm confident we can take both at home. Just because he made a lucky shot in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals doesn't make him Micheal Jordan. Maybe if this was to win the series or the Finals but all this was was one team winning a game at home like there supposed to. Magic in 6.
  13. jivepar
    1091. Posted by jivepar Sat May 23 7:43pm EDT

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    the shot was spectacular but not clutch. The last shot by Hedo was clutch. Lebron shot does not have the any pressure at all since it was almost a given that they are lost. No one expects that shot to go in therefore there is no pressure. The analogy in poker is going all-in with a small stack hoping to hit the Bingo. The fact the he hit Bingo only means he got lucky. Nothing else.
  14. <i>abuckley8251@...</i>
    1090. Posted by abuckley8251@... Sat May 23 7:03pm EDT

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    go cavs james is king
  15. So S
    1089. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

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    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  16. So S
    1088. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  17. So S
    1087. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  18. So S
    1086. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  19. So S
    1085. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  20. So S
    1084. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  21. So S
    1083. Posted by So S Sat May 23 7:02pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    the media is making a big deal out of this because: (this is for lbj haters..listen) #1 cleveland's sport's history...never winning...a so called curse...which the fans felt creeping up on them when hedo made the shot with a second left...lbj's gw 3 literally revived the whole cleveland nation...it was an incredible lift for that moment even though it was only game 2...#2 he single handedly saved the cavaliers season...going into orlando down 0-2 would of been disaterous and he put hope and spirit back into the fans and his team mates #3 "the shot" which has cursed cavs fans for years has the chance to finally be redeemed when and if the cavs win the series....so why hate on the man? the media is blowin this shot up for multiple reasons...and he deserves the attention because of the story behind the shot...not so much that they are claiming it's the BEST SHOT EVER..it's the history behind it...n hedo played GREAT DEFENSE ON LBJ....
  22. So S
    1082. Posted by So S Sat May 23 6:56pm EDT

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    clock doesn't start till both feet are on the ground...u can't float with the ball..doesn't count dumb dumb
  23. Jay S
    1081. Posted by Jay S Sat May 23 6:38pm EDT

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    It was a 3! LBJ done made a million of those and will probably make a billion more of those. Congrats to the Cavs on the win. Thanks to all four teams for making each series an exciting one to watch. It was just a 3 pointer by LBJ. If Z made the shot, that would have been incredible, but LBJ, he could make a sandwich, pick his in-grown, and make a 3 all at the same time. Right? So let it go, it was just a 3. hahaha
  24. R P
    1080. Posted by R P Sat May 23 6:37pm EDT

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    Lebron came through for the Cavs,saw it,knew it was going to be a decent shot with a second left.Im thinking it's a catch and shoot to tie,not to win,and it was an impressive 3 point shot that was needed badly.Cleveland has got to play better or they wont make it to the finals to play the Lakers.
  25. Darnell P
    1079. Posted by Darnell P Sat May 23 6:35pm EDT

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    so I guess nobody noticed how the shot clock was delayed and the time keeper didn't start the clock when it touched Lebrons hands but only after he started to jump. I guess if you want to live in fantasy world you can think he made the shot. But the time would have expired if they started the clock properly. There is no way you can catch the ball turn turn your body bend your legs to jump in the air..while jumping release the ball. Its impossible. At best he should have only had time to catch and release. not catch, turn toward basket, jump and release. I watched it in slow mo and for sure the clock did not start when it touched his hands.
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Top Performers

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 Orlando
R. Lewis Rashard Lewis
6-15,  23 Pts
5 Rebs, 1 Assists
 Cleveland
L. James LeBron James
12-23,  35 Pts
4 Rebs, 5 Assists

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