May 25 Dwight Howard had 24 points and nine rebounds as the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-89 to take a 2-1 lead in the National Basketball Association’s Eastern Conference finals.
The Magic trailed 48-47 early in the third quarter at Amway Arena in Orlando before going on an 11-2 scoring run to take the lead for good. Howard, who was limited to 28 minutes by foul trouble, had six points as Orlando went ahead 58-50 and didn’t let Cleveland get closer than four points the rest of the way.
Rafer Alston had 18 points and Mickael Pietrus added 16 off the bench for the Magic, who host Game 4 of the best-of-seven playoff series tomorrow.
LeBron James scored a game-high 41 points for the Cavaliers, though he was held to 11-of-28 shooting from the field. Cleveland shot 37.2 percent for the game and made 5-of-26 three-point attempts.
The Cavaliers, who had the NBA’s best record during the regular season, won Game 2 at home 96-95 when James hit a three- pointer as time expired. It was one of Cleveland’s two wins in six games against Orlando this season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a 2-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, with Game 4 tonight in Denver.
