CLEVELAND — Dwight Howard made time stand still.
Howard broke the 24-second shot-clock and then helped the Orlando Magic do something seemingly even more impossible — beating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half and 12 in the third quarter, the Magic put together a scrapbook comeback, winning Game 1 107-106 on Wednesday night to open the Eastern Conference finals.
You thought the Game 7 win at Boston to oust the Celtics was something?
The Magic handed the steam-rolling Cavs their first loss of the postseason, weathering James’ 49-point masterpiece to steal home-court advantage from the team that posted the league’s best record at home (39-2).
The Magic, trailing 106-104 on James’ three-point play with 25.6 seconds left, went ahead 107-106 on a three-pointer by Rashard Lewis with 14.7 seconds left.
Cavs guard Delonte West missed a three-pointer, and with one second left, a wild scramble resulted in a jump-ball between James and Hedo Turkoglu. James batted it out to Mo Williams, who barely missed a desperation shot.
“I’m not an optimistic guy and when Mo Williams caught it and shot it off of one foot, I was sure it was going in,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
West had given the Cavs the lead when he drilled a three-pointer with 40.8 seconds left for a 103-102 lead until Lewis answered with a jumper to put Orlando ahead 104-103.
After the game, James limped off the floor, his right knee bleeding, and apparently suffering from cramps. Or shock.
Game 2 is Friday night, but the Magic — fresh off its ouster of the defending champion Celtics — made a resounding statement.
Howard scored 30 points and had 13 rebounds, but the winning shot by Lewis came after Howard fouled out on James’ three-point play.
“[Howard] was tremendous tonight,” Van Gundy said. “In retrospect, I’m really glad that Rashard hit the three-pointer because we didn’t want to go into overtime without him.”
Howard dunked hard for the Magic’s first basket. Too hard. His dunk collapsed the 24-second clock affixed atop the basket backboard one minute into the game, sending it falling against the support beam, causing a nine-minute delay.
Layups: Cristal Taylor, the ex-girlfriend of Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, says she is pregnant with his child and they had planned to get married on July 18. Taylor, 37, is jailed on an outstanding warrant stemming from a 2006 felony theft charge. … World Wrestling Entertainment says it is moving its Monday night event to Los Angeles because of a conflict with Game 4 of the Western Conference finals at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Tribune wires contributed.
