LeBron James came to the Cleveland Cavaliers' rescue with 43 points in a key 97-93 triumph over Eastern Conference rivals Orlando on Tuesday.
With Cleveland trailing by a point, James drilled a long three-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to put his team up 95-93.
James, who scored 15 of his game-high 43 points in the fourth quarter, added a pair of free throws down the stretch and collected 12 rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
"You can't afford to take a step back with the playoffs right around the corner," James told reporters. "(The Magic) are a good team, it's possible we'll see them in the playoffs."
Cleveland (54-13) won for the sixth consecutive game and extended their lead in the East to four games with 15 remaining. The Magic are third in the conference with a 49-18 record.
Rafer Alston recorded a team-high 23 points while Courtney Lee had 19 for Orlando, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
The Magic looked poised to hand the Cavaliers just their second home loss of the season when they took a 75-72 lead into the fourth quarter.
But James ignited his team by scoring Cleveland's first six points of the quarter to lead a quick 8-0 run that provided the Cavaliers with an 80-78 advantage.
"I don't know if there is a good answer (on how to stop) him," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said of James.
"He's going to kill you one-on-one scoring."
(Reuters via China Daily March 19, 2009)
