Cavaliers-Magic: Classic Game Four Pushes Cleveland to the Brink

The magical season of the Cleveland Cavs is one game away from midnight.  The Cavs, led by superstar LeBron James, are not going to let go of this season without a fight and the proof of that was the amazing game four. It was the third game that came down to the last shot and the problem that the Cavs have is that they are 1-2 in those games.

In game one, it was a clutch three by Rashard Lewis that sealed the win for Orlando and gave them the home court advantage. In game two, it was LeBron that made the literal buzzer beater that kept the Magic from taking a 2-0 lead. 

In game four, Lewis made another clutch three at the end of regulation followed by two clutch free throws by James that sent the classic game four into overtime.

It was in that overtime that the other superstar in this series, Dwight Howard, scored ten points in the five minute extra period.  LeBron James had the last shot but could not find the range as the buzzer sounded and the game ended in a 116-114 win for the Magic.

It was a game that had it all.  The supporting cast of the Cavs had their best game of the series as Williams and West took the ball to the basket to compensate for their poor outside shooting.  The Magic displayed epic outside shooting in making 17 three-point shots. 

The coaching staff of the Cavs made enough adjustments to have leads at the end of the first three quarters. 

Stan Van Gundy made an adjustment at the end of regulation to get the ball to Rashard Lewis, who was guarded by Ben Wallace, on an in bounds play that Cleveland sports fans will see in their nightmares next to John Elway, Michael Jordan and Jose Mesa.

The Cavs looked out of sorts all game long on defense.  The pick and roll that the magic used led to the Cavs defenders chasing the ball all around the court and so many open three point looks. In the overtime, the Magic pounded the ball inside on the Cavs and the decision to not double team Howard led to three straight dunks.

For the first three quarters, the Cavs offense matched the ball movement of the Magic and the Cavs enjoyed leads that stretched to as much as eight points.  In the fourth quarter, however, their offense did stagnate as LeBron had the ball in his hands and he responded with too many turnovers. 

The Magic took control of the game in that final quarter as they took the lead and pushed it to as much as seven points.

A Delonte West layup tied the game at 97.  A LeBron James free throw gave the Cavs a 98-97 lead but he did miss the other free throw.  The Rashard Lewis three gave the Magic a 100-98 lead.  Two clutch free throws by James tied it at 100.

For all of the adversity the Cavs have faced this series, they had the momentum going into the overtime period with their late comeback to tie the game.

That was when Dwight Howard stepped up to the elite level as the best center in the NBA today, put the Magic on his back and dunked them to the victory.  Howard even made two clutch free throws in the overtime period.

So as game five looms in Cleveland, the Cavs need to get back to what they have done well this series and that was move the ball on offense to get the whole team involved.  They need to figure out what they are going to do on defense since every possession by the Magic looked like a jail break by the Cleveland defenders. 

I would say a zone defense could keep them matched up better but with the defensive three second rule, which I think is a horrible rule to have in the NBA, the Cavs have to choose between letting Howard kill them inside or the three point shooters kill them from the outside.

I would let Howard do his best from the inside, using all of the fouls of the Cleveland big guys to put him on the line and stay home on those three point shooters. Giving up 17 three pointers is absolutely absurd this late in the season and could be the final nail in the coffin for a magical season that has been pushed to the brink by the Magic.