Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy was upset with his decision to guard James on the last play.

“That one obviously hurts quite a bit,” he said. “I’d like to have that last one back from a coaching standpoint,” he said. “I should have defended it differently. It’s crushing enough to lose as a coach, but when you feel like you’re the guy who could’ve made the difference, it hurts a lot more.

“I just want to win and we should have won.”

Like the hand powder James famously blows above his head before every game, Cleveland’s season was on the verge of disappearing into thin air.

Their offense out of whack and their defense not up to its usual standards, the Cavaliers let the Magic overcome a huge deficit for the second straight game.

Turkoglu’s 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds left had tied it 93-93, and the Cavs appeared to take the lead on James’ left-handed layup over Howard. But he was called for traveling, one of several calls that could have gone either way in a second half filled with whistles.

“That walk — great call by the refs,” James said, “glad I had a chance to redeem myself.”

Turkoglu’s shot over Sasha Pavlovic, who gave the Cavs a lift off the bench with nine points, had Cleveland fans reliving all those moments of sports heartbreak — Jordan’s Shot, John Elway’s Drive, The Fumble — that have led to the city’s 45-year championship drought.

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James, though, the kid from down the Interstate in nearby Akron, restored their confidence that this might finally be Cleveland’s season.

“An amazing player,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “To have the wherewithal to have that type of confidence in yourself, to know there’s one second on the clock and you’re ending this thing right now ... not many people could do it. An amazing shot by an amazing player. That’s what great players do.”

Down by 23 in the second quarter the Magic, who won the opener by one point, were within 12 at halftime.

By the end of the third they had cut it to six, and when Lewis backed down Delonte West and scored on a short jumper with 6:12 left, Orlando had tied it at 84-all.

For a few seconds, it looked as if Turkoglu would be the hero and the Magic would be halfway to their first appearance in the finals since 1995.

James wouldn’t allow it.

“I’m shocked anybody would make that shot,” Howard said. “Everybody is watching. I know I won’t be able to sleep and the rest of my teammates won’t be able to sleep. We’ve got to get over it.”

Notes: In the playoffs, James is averaging 34.7 points on 55 percent shooting. ... Howard has had a double-double in all 15 postseason games. ... The officials missed what should have been a technical foul on Williams in the first quarter for throwing the ball at Howard’s back. ... An elderly man was taken for medical treatment after Williams crashed into him while chasing a loose ball. As the fan was being transported from the floor in a wheelchair, Williams came over and put his arm around him. The man was back in his seat after halftime.

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