Magic Stuns Cavs in OT, 116-114

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

LeBron James finally got much-needed help from his teammates.

However, it still wasn't enough to disappoint the hometown crowd in Orlando, as they fell short in tying the series against the rampaging Orlando Magic.

James and the rest of the Cavaliers were dealt their third loss in the last four outings.

Dwight Howard, the behemoth that he is, led the way for the Magic, scoring 27 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and displaying an abysmal defense inside the paint.

Supporting Howard were Mickael Pietrus and Rafer Alston, who connected on timely 3-point baskets and scored a combined 43 points.

Howard scored mostly on vicious dunks and easy lay-ups, while Pietrus, Alston, and the rest of the magical supporting cast shot the lights out from rainbow country, crafting out a splendid in and out offense.

On the Cavaliers' side, James scored 44 hard-earned points, but the stellar scoring effort was cancelled out by his majesty's eight turnovers, which represents two-thirds of the Cavaliers' total turnovers.

The classy back court duo of  Mo Williams and Delonte West added 18 and 17 points apiece, but were shut down late and finished the game with a combined 12 of 30 from shooting from the field.

It was a seesaw battle right from the start, with 11 lead changes and seven deadlocks.

The Magic led most of the final period, but the Cavaliers crawled their way back, courtesy of James, who sent the game into overtime via the charity stripe.

With a half second to go, the Magic had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a desperate lob attempt for Howard went catastrophic as Anderson Varejao fell off him.

In the overtime period, Howard scored 10 of the Magic's 16 points, and showed nerves-of-steel, connecting on two crucial free throws.

Magic now leads the series 3-1, and inches closer to its first trip to the NBA finals since 1995.

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