James keeps series going

The Cleveland Cavaliers had the best record in the NBA this season. They also swept through the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs. So did anyone really expect them to fold like bad origami in Thursday’s must-win game against the Orlando Magic?

Of course not.

The Cavaliers, behind LeBron James’ triple-double, came up with a 112-102 victory over the Magic and now trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.

The teams go to Florida for Game 6 on Saturday. If the Cavaliers win that one, it’s back to Cleveland for a Game 7 on Monday. And if the Cavaliers complete this hat trick after trailing 3-1, they will be only the ninth team out of 188 to accomplish this feat.

Yes, the odds are still long, especially playing against a team that fell behind by 22 points in the first quarter only to make it close until the last minute. The Magic even led by as many as eight in the second half.

The Magic will have to deal with James, the league’s most valuable player, who continued his incredible postseason.

James entered the game averaging 42.3 points in the series and finished with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in keeping the Cavaliers’ season alive.

“LeBron was huge for us,” Cleveland Coach Mike Brown said. “I didn’t even realize he had a triple-double. But that’s what great players do. They put the team on their back.”

James scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, and his three-point play with 2:22 to play gave the Cavaliers a 102-93 lead.

Magic center Dwight Howard (24 points) fouled out trying to defend James.

James had some help from teammates this time as Mo Williams made six of nine three-point tries and became the first Cavalier other than James to score 20 points or more in the five games, finishing with 24. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (16 points) and Delonte West (13) also made contributions.

Orlando had seized a 3-1 series lead by offering a more balanced attack than Cleveland, but the Magic struggled early on defense and allowed the Cavaliers to shoot 50%. Orlando also hurt itself at the free-throw line, making only 28 of 41 (68.3%).

The Magic made one of the most remarkable comebacks in its postseason history after falling behind 34-12 in the opening quarter.

The Cavaliers charged out and tried to deliver the knockout, rushing to a 26-8 lead after a basket by James.

At that point, Cleveland had made 10 of 11 shots. Forward Wally Szczerbiak increased the margin to 34-12 with a jumper.

But the Magic kept chipping away, and a three-point play by Howard highlighted a 14-1 run to close the gap to 35-26. Trailing by 10 at 54-44, the Magic scored three consecutive baskets to trim the deficit to four, and Rashard Lewis’ three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer made it 56-55, silencing a crowd that had watched a 22-point lead slip to one.

Things got worse before they got better for the Cavaliers.

Howard’s basket gave the Magic the lead. Then Hedo Turkoglu drilled a three-pointer and another jumper and Courtney Lee added a basket, and the Magic was ahead by eight at 64-56.

The Cavaliers cut the deficit to 79-78 by the end of the quarter before James took over down the stretch.

The Magic split the first two games in Cleveland to wrest home-court advantage way from the Cavaliers, and now it will have a chance to close the LeBron Show in Orlando. It’s either that or answer questions about a collapse of its own.

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bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com