Cavs-Magic Game Two: 48 Minutes To A Miracle

The best playoff year ever for the Association continued tonight in Cleveland. I can't state this enough: for sheer night-in night-out amazement, this year is taking a back seat to no sport and no year. But I'm going to take you there with the usual hyper-detailed micro blog, because it deserves it. Every single minute of it.

For the second straight game, the Cavs jumped out to a big early lead -- 15-5 after the first five minutes, and 30-16 at the end of the first -- but unlike last night's game, it's wasn't all LeBron James, and the ball movement was terrific. Midway through the second quarter, the lead was 23, and it looked like the Magic were just going to be happy to go home with a split.

But then the Magic do what they do -- namely, start making threes -- and while Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis combined to start 2 for 11, they finished 15 for 32. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

With 3:44 left in the second quarter, the Turk got a steal off James, and Delonte West refused to give him a shot at the old school three; even better, the refs didn't give up the flagrant call, showing that there wasn't going to be undue ref involvement to ruin this one. Cavs Fan liked that play a little too much; had this game been in Philly, I'm sure the national media would comment. A slam from LeBron showed the continued good ball movement, but the Magic were shooting better now, and the lead shrank to 14 before commercial.

The Magic then answered one of those Utter Devastation drive and dunks by James with a calm Lewis triple. Another ridiculous make for James was matched by a JJ Redick runner, and the Cavs' defense was starting to fail just like Game One. After a rare Magic miss, James went to the rim again and gets the call, and he's going so good then, he was even making every free throw. The Turk connected with high difficulty over the remains of Ben Wallace. James finally missed a free throw, and at the buzzer, Sasha Pavlovic gets the steal but no call, and that's it.

Now, please note that all of that was just the end of the freaking second quarter. At the half, it was Cavs 56, Magic 44.

TNT -- who, I have to say, I greatly prefer to the World Wide Lemur -- showed Stan van Ron Jeremy Gundy going back to his I Hate My Team routine that is going to cause him to wear our his welcomed in another 2-3 years, but it's working for now, and for the most part, I hated his team in the first half tonight, too.

The first possession of the second half was that old-school Cavs defense, and the fact that the home crowd didn't pick up on it showed just how much nerves they had. An absurd James three, followed by Z stopping Howard one on one, still doesn't quite get them loud as the lead went to 14. A bad Alston miss and a nice pick and roll for a James jumper got them a little more enthused, but a miss trade later, it was Howard at the rim with ease, and a miss later, the Turk abused West to bring it back to 12. The crowd had no confidence that this could end early, and they were right.

Sideshow Anderson made a tough reverse, but the Turk was driving easy to the bucket, and we're back to trade bucket mode, with the next swap being Mo Williams for Courtney Lee. And then Lewis made back to back threes, and in a blink, it was a 14-4 Magic run.

Coming out of the timeout, James went for yet another old-school three, but missed the free throw. I can't tell you, really, how good he is right now. Lewis missed a three badly, and Sideshow followed with an ugly dribble and bank. Rather than get discouraged by lucky offense, the Magic just rain down another three. That's got to be discouraging. James broke the line and got blocked, but recovered and drew Howard's third foul on another old-school three. Alston misses, but runs down Williams for a turnover; and on the trip back, Z and Williams stop Howard at the rim, with Mo calling time on the floor. The Cavs led this game by 10, but it might have been the least comfortable ten they've led by all year.

Midway through the third, Williams didn't want the three, and his runner wasn't any better. Lewis missed a corner three, the kind of shot he normally buries. The Turk picked up an odd loose ball foul, his third, the kind of play that's rarely called even if correct, but the fact that this was the most curious ref decision of the night tells you what kind of game they called. James only got off the floor to get his leg worked on, the same one that got banged in Game One, proving nothing other than that he bleeds like a normal man; as soon as he returned, he just went to the rim like normal. Rather than have any moment of hesitation, Lewis just scored. Howard picked up his fourth defending an alley oop, and with 2:22 left in the third, the Cavs still had that 10 point lead, and maybe a little better feeling with the Magic center looking bench-bound.

Here's the problem with that hope: while it's never a bad thing to get Howard on the pine, it's not like any of the Magic opponents have been able to take advantage. The Magic won Game Six in Philadelphia without Howard; when he's been on the pine, Gortat has played well. They might even move the ball better.

Joe Smith took his fourth foul on Lewis behind the arc, and Lewis reacted to the tap was as if he was shot. Despite the bad free throw karma, Lewis drains all three to make it a 9 point game. The Cavs turned it carelessly on their usual top of the key weave, and Smith got his fifth away from the ball, forcing James to guard Lewis... which just means the Magic use the Turk to hit the three instead, cutting it to six. A bad Cavs possession ended with a long three miss. The Turk missed, but the Cavs couldn't shoot in transition, and Pavlovic ended it by missing from the arc. A Lee runner is waved off as Ben Wallace is able to get the block call; huge stop for the Cavs there. The quarter ends with a flat and short three from James, and that's a 25-19 third quarter for the Magic, who are awfully close to taking a hammerlock on this thing. Yes, I'm amazed. Cavs 75, Magic 69.

Mike Brown notes that his team is having problems with the pick and roll. No, really? And to think, some people wonder about him. A James drive got nothing, and Pietrus fed Gortat at the rim for a stuff; it's a four point game. West answered, and Anthony Johnson sent James to the line as Gortat got crushed. Two makes pushes it to 8, but Gortat converted an ugly finish at the rim. James fed Pavlovic, who gets to the rim and scores over Gortat, who added a potentially justified technical for a blocking call when he was outside the arc. With just one make - Pavlovic has some ridiculous issues at the line -- the lead was nine again.

Pavlovic took a wrestling foul on Lewis on pick and roll coverage. Howard replaces Gortat, and the Turk drove and scored in his Mr. Fourth Quarter way. The Cavs moved the ball well, but they were also antsy about pulling the trigger, and it resulted in a Pavlovic air ball. Courtney Lee got a call and made both to trim the lead to five, the closest it had been since the first quarter. James turned it with a charge as Anthony Johnson got a little lucky; the refs then hit Turk with a make-up turnover. The Cavs continued their tense fourth with a James miss from bad distance, answered by a tough running miss from Lee. James then turned it on a bald charge on Michael Pietrus, who really should get more floor time for the Magic, and just to back that sentiment up, Pietrus drained a three over Vareajo to cut it to two. Vareajo compounded the error with a bad turnover. At the seven minute mark, Lee finally tied it on an easy drive, and wow, wow, wow.

James took the mantle and scored on a drive. Lewis owned West to tie it back up. The 11-2 Magic run had Cleveland Fan ready to tie off. TNT informed us that the Magic are 44-11 when they make nine or more threes, as they had at that point. James missed, got the board and fed West, who also missed from the arc. On the Magic's first attempt to get the lead, they converted -- first one tonight. Williams then refused the goat horns he had been modeling with a huge make to tie it back on a possession where the Cavs look diseased. The Magic turn it as Williams goes to the floor, and Lewis got a shot to the face for his blocking foul trouble. Williams then made a huge three off a James dish, and Cleveland Fan is alive with a three point lead.

The Turk, at this point, simply did not care, and scored on his usual easy fourth quarter drive. Z, of all people, hit a top of the key jumper off a James drive, and the Cavs looked like a basketball team again. The Turk picked up an offensive foul, his fifth, as he nailed Sideshow Vareajo, who sold an actual call for once. Cleveland turned it, but Lee missed. James fed Williams for a wide open three, but he isn't that big of a hero, and you know the game means everything when the 7-foot Z with the four-times surgery legs are hitting the floor and calling time.

After the time out, Z missed an open three, one of those shots that you have to be happy to see if you are one of those theoretical Magic fans. Pietrus converted a runner over a Cavs quasi-trap, but it was answered by Williams with a nice running make. Lewis missed an open three as Vareajo hit the floor. James tried to get to the rim for a killing spike, but Pietrus fouled him en route, and the Magic weren't in the penalty yet. James drove with no call, and the Magic responded with good ball movement and an ice-cold Turk three to tie it again. Good heavens, the Turk is just an assassin.

James called for a travel with 30.9 left, a call that even he admitted to after the game. The Magic were a make and a stop away from a 2-0 series lead that would just stun on every level. I can't imagine how awful Cavs Fan felt, but from the crowd noise, there wasn't a single man alive who believed.

The Cavs had a foul to give, and Pavlovic gave it with 13.6 left on a Turk drive. A bit of a cheap call, and it gave the Magic the shot at holding for the last shot and win. The arena had a clock malfunction just to prolong Cavs Fan Agony, and James needed more work on his leg. Just agonizing; I think if I were a Cavs fan, the temptation to leave would have been huge.

On the inbounds from Lewis, James does not pressure it for some reason. I get that you need to keep an eye on the inbounds passer, and Lewis is too tall to really pressure there... but still, harass the man. Instead, he gets it to the Turk easily, and he converted an awkward half-drive and high arcing jump shot over Pavlovic -- not James -- with a second left. Immediately afterward, TNT cut to a reaction shot of a small boy in a Cavs jersey that was just awful, child abuse, really. In my notes, I wrote, "Absent a miracle, the Magic will be up 2-0 with home court."

And then a miracle happened.

Williams inbounded from half court to James. Having watched the replay a dozen times, the striking thing is how no other Cavs players seems to have hope.

Only James was moving hard.

Only James had any sense of still winning this game.

Only James could drive the Turk to the paint as if he was going for a lob, then get separation for the catch behind the arc.

And only James could rise and can it from 25 feet for the absolute single-out suck-out win.

Cavs 96, Magic 95.

Somewhere, Craig Ehlo is smiling -- crying, perhaps -- because he's off the hook now.

And that, folks, was just Game Two.