NBA: Cleveland 96, Orlando 95

CLEVELAND, May 22 (UPI) -- LeBron James made a potential season-saving, 3-point shot at the buzzer Friday that gave Cleveland an amazing 96-95 playoff victory over Orlando.

The Cavaliers managed to even the Eastern Conference finals at a game each, just as it appeared they would lose their second straight playoff game after winning their first eight.

Cleveland opened a 23-point lead in the first half and seemingly was on its way to an easy victory.

Orlando, however, cut its deficit to a dozen by intermission, dominated the second half and stunned the Cavaliers when Hedo Turkoglu made a leaning jumper from the free-throw line with exactly a second remaining to give the Magic a 95-93 lead.

After the ensuing time out, James broke away from Turkoglu to get open space just beyond the 3-point line. He grabbed the inbound pass and launched a high-arcing shot that was halfway to the basket when the horn sounded.

The ball struck the back of the rim, but rattled in. The Cleveland superstar was mobbed by his teammates after hitting a shot that will likely go down as one of the most dramatic in NBA history.

James, voted the NBA's most valuable player for the first time this season, finished with 35 points while Mo Williams had 19.

Orlando was led by 23 points from Rashard Lewis, who hit the game-winning shot Wednesday in a 107-106 Magic victory.

Despite the thrilling win, Cleveland still must defeat Orlando on its home court at least once to advance to the NBA finals. This series moves to Orlando for the next two contests, with the Magic hosting Game 3 Sunday.