Cavaliers take 3-1 lead on Wizards

Delonte West, on a feed from LeBron James, hit the game winner.

WASHINGTON (AP) — King James lost his crown.

All right, so it was his burgundy headband that went flying when LeBron James took a shot to the noggin from DeShawn Stevenson, their simmering feud nearly boiling over. James kept his cool, allowing the flagrant foul to spark him and his Cleveland Cavaliers.

At game’s end, James was just as collected, drawing waves of Washington Wizards defenders before dishing to Delonte West for a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. That shot, along with James’ 34 points and 12 rebounds, led the Cavaliers to a 100-97 victory Sunday and a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

“There’s been some extracurricular activities going on outside and inside this series,” James said, “but I’ve been able to stay focused.”

The Wizards were ahead by a point with 31‚Ñ2 minutes remaining in the first half when James drove to the basket, and Stevenson came from behind and swiped a hand out, clipping the Cavs’ star with what James said teammates told him was a closed fist before tumbling to the court. James kept his balance and stepped toward Stevenson, who got up and stepped toward James.

They exchanged words, but that was it, before teammates stepped in between.

“If we was on the park, something definitely would have escalated,” James said. “But, you know, I guess that’s what they want to do. They want to hurt LeBron James this series. It ain’t working.”

Stevenson’s take?

“That’s how it goes,” he said. “It was a big game for us.”

Now the Cavaliers, who eliminated the Wizards in each of the previous two postseasons, have control, with Game 5 Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

James got help Sunday from more than just West, whose career playoff-high 21 points included five 3-pointers. Daniel Gibson made four 3s, and Ben Wallace had 12 rebounds — part of a 51-31 edge on the boards for Cleveland.

One small sequence that epitomized things: At the end of the third quarter, Joe Smith’s three-point play followed two offensive rebounds and gave the Cavaliers an 80-73 edge.

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was succinct: “We didn’t rebound.”

Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Caron Butler added 19 points.

Gilbert Arenas made two free throws with 57 seconds left to get Washington within two points. After James missed a jumper — part of an 0-for-3 fourth quarter — Arenas’ 8-foot fadeaway with 28 seconds remaining made it 97-all.

And from there, as West put it: “I’m pretty sure everybody in the gym, including their defense, thought [James] was going to take the last shot. And I think sometimes we forget this guy has great court vision. He made the right play.”