James’ shot has Cavaliers buzzing

Cleveland is hoping to regain home-court advantage with a win tonight in Orlando.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — As if once wasn’t enough, the Orlando Magic were forced to watch LeBron James’ amazing buzzer-beater all day Saturday.

The Magic were witnesses all right. Again. And again. And again.

James’ stunning fadeaway 3-pointer in Game 2 that tied the Eastern Conference finals was replayed countless times on TV sets from Cleveland to Orlando. It was also a fixture in the minds of Cavaliers fans basking in the win, and in the thoughts of Magic players wondering what could have been.

“It’s tough when you got to go home and watch it on TV over and over again,” Magic center Dwight Howard said.

The shot saved the Cavaliers from a daunting 0-2 hole, and already was being talked about as one of the greatest moments in Cleveland sports history. There’s just one downside for the Cavs.

“It is over and done with,” James said.

For all the drama and emotion surrounding the riveting shot, the Cavaliers have plenty to fix if they want to reclaim home-court advantage when the series shifts to Orlando for tonight’s Game 3.

The Magic ripped their defense apart, exposed their lack of depth and roared back from a double-digit deficit for the second straight game.

Now the NBA’s top-seeded team heads to Orlando, where it lost both games this season, including a 29-point blowout in April in which it trailed by as many as 41.

But one shot made all of that seem like a distant memory.

“To go on the road, 1 second from being down 0-2, going to Orlando and from zero seconds the shot goes in to being 1-1 going on the road, it is a good feeling for us,” James said. “We can carry this momentum.”

It’s an all too familiar feeling for Orlando.

The Magic have been last-second losers four times this postseason. Boston’s Glen Davis hit a jumper as time expired in Game 4 of their second-round series. Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young each hit a shot in the final seconds for wins in the opening round, forcing the Magic to again watch another team celebrate as they walked slowly to the locker room in defeat.

Any carry-over seems unlikely.

Orlando responded well after each of the previous heartbreakers, winning the following games against Philadelphia and nearly taking Game 5 against the Celtics before blowing a big fourth-quarter lead.

“How many times have I been asked that in the postseason so far?” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Game 1 in Philly we lose at the buzzer. Is there going to be carry-over? OK. Game 3 in Philly, they beat us at the buzzer. Is there going to be carry-over? Game 4 against Boston, is there going to be carry-over? I mean, you know, I’ve heard that the entire postseason.”

The Magic, a streaky shooting team that can dazzle at times and disappear during some games, overcame a 23-point deficit in Game 2 as skittish Cleveland fans covered their mouths in disbelief, with Hedo Turkoglu hitting a 12-footer in the lane to put Orlando ahead by two with 1 second left.

Cleveland called timeout and drew up a play for James. The league’s MVP darted toward the basket, cut back near the top of the circle, caught the ball and let loose a shot over Turkoglu that sent those same fans hugging and cheering in an all-too-good state of shock.

An encore won’t be easy.

The Magic have been a matchup nightmare at times for the Cavs, who have lost nine of the last 13 games to Orlando. The Magic, with their bevy of 3-point shooters and Howard inside, have picked apart Cleveland’s defense for long stretches.

Orlando has started slow in the first two games, and Cleveland likely won’t be able to count on such a cushion Sunday at Amway Arena, where the Magic usually start fast.

But the Cavs did show some positive signs in the win.

Unlike Game 1, when Orlando emerged on a late 3-pointer by Rashard Lewis, it wasn’t just the LeBron show. Mo Williams had 19 points and made some big shots late. Cleveland also got 12 points apiece from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West.

Sasha Pavlovic scored nine points in 21 minutes but most of Cleveland’s reserves again provided little support.