Game Four: Orlando Magic 116, Cleveland Cavaliers 114

When the game is on the line, superstar step up.

LeBron James knows this. When his team trailed by four points late in the game, he willed his team to a one-point lead with time winding down. When Rashard Lewis hit a fade-away 3-pointer that gave the Magic a two-point lead, James drove the lane and drew a blocking foul on Mickael Pietrus to get to the line for the game-tying free throws that sent the game to overtime.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, Orlando too has a superstar. Even if he did not get the same treatment at the end of Tuesday's fourth quarter, he came through when his team needed him most.

Dwight Howard scored 10 of his 27 points in overtime, helping the Magic take control in the overtime period and hold on for a 116-114 win. With it, he helped them take a commanding 3-1 series lead. But we all know how Orlando does with 3-1 series leads in the past.

This series is far from over even with the Magic on the doorstep of their second NBA Finals. And they certainly weathered a great effort from Cleveland. It was an up-and-down affair with both teams taking big leads, including the Cavaliers taking an eight-point lead to the half.

Throughout the night, Orlando had a difficult time keeping Cleveland out of the paint. James, of course, got where he wanted. But Mo Williams was also more aggressive -- and more effective -- and Delonte West also looked to attack, taking advantage of some over-aggressive (or careful) Magic defense.

But Orlando had some new tricks offensively too. Mainly the dominance of Howard on the inside early and the (over)use of the 3-point shot.

Howard had most of his points in the first half and in overtime. But offensively, this game was all about the shooting. The Magic shot 17 of 38 from beyond the arc. Shooting 40 3-pointers is incredible. Most of them were good looks that came off of good ball movement, some were off of poor shot selection.

I am admittedly not a huge fan of 3-pointers as a strategy, but it saved the Magic tonight. And when you can hit almost 50 percent, it is a good night.

Rafer Alston was also much more aggressive and he was hitting shots. It seems like the streaky shooting of Orlando's starting point guard is finally turning good. Alston has forced a lot of action and again forced LeBron James to focus on defense -- now that he splits time between Alston and Rashard Lewis.

Speaking of Rashard Lewis, he struggled throughout the night. But once again awoke in the fourth quarter. Lewis hit a tough fade-away bank shot and that fade-away 3-pointer that gave Orlando a critical 3-point lead.

The defense overall, was not fantastic. There were certainly moments for the team (and Orlando stepped up when it needed to), but Cleveland had its best offensive game of the series. It was only counteracted by an incredible offensive night from the Magic.

There looked to be some tentativeness at times because of the foul calls, but Cleveland was also more aggressive going to the basket. The Cavaliers settled for jumpers a lot less than they have in previous games in this series. Orlando did a good job adjusting as the game went on, but still never could pull away.

Don't get me wrong, this was a huge win for Orlando. Going up 3-1 is very different than going back to Cleveland tied at two. It does give the Magic some breathing room, but also tests their killer instinct and will ready them for the finals like nothing else can.

This series should be over for all intents and purposes. Orlando has done a great job closing out Cleveland and finding ways to win games.

But they cannot depend on the Amway Arena crowd to carry them in Game Six. Everyone has questioned this team all the time. A win in Game Five would silence any critics.