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King James lost his crown.

All right, so it was his burgundy headband that went flying when LeBron James took a shot to the noggin from DeShawn Stevenson, their simmering feud nearly boiling over. James kept his cool, allowing the flagrant foul to spark him and his Cleveland Cavaliers.

At game's end, James was just as collected, drawing waves of Washington Wizards defenders before dishing to Delonte West for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. That shot, along with James' 34 points and 12 rebounds, led the Cavaliers to a 100-97 victory on Sunday and a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series.

"There's been some extracurricular activities going on outside and inside this series," James said, "but I've been able to stay focused."

The Wizards were ahead by a point with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half when James drove to the basket, and Stevenson came from behind and swiped a hand out, clipping the Cavs' star with what appeared to be a closed fist before tumbling to the court. James kept his balance and stepped toward Stevenson, who got up and stepped toward James.

They exchanged words, but that was it, before teammates stepped in between.

"If we was on the park, something definitely would have escalated," James said. "But, you know, I guess that's what they want to do. They want to hurt LeBron James this series. It ain't working."

Stevenson's take?

"That's how it goes," he said. "It was a big game for us."

Now the Cavaliers, who eliminated the Wizards in each of the previous two postseasons, have control, with Game 5 on Wednesday at Cleveland.

James got help Sunday from more than just West, whose career playoff-high 21 points included five 3-pointers. Daniel Gibson made four 3s, and Ben Wallace had 12 rebounds -- part of a remarkable 51-31 edge on the boards for Cleveland.

One small sequence that epitomized things: At the end of the third quarter, Joe Smith's three-point play followed two offensive rebounds and gave the Cavaliers an 80-73 edge.

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was succinct: "We didn't rebound."

Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Caron Butler added 19 points. But it was Stevenson who was at the center of the key play.

LeBron vs. DeShawn had been mainly an off-court rivalry, prompted in part by Stevenson calling James overrated, and extending to involve rap megastar Jay-Z and one-hit wonder Soulja Boy. James' pal Jay-Z created a song dissing Stevenson that was played at a D.C. club this weekend.

"He's worth $500 million, and he's writing songs about me," Stevenson said before tipoff. "What does that say about DeShawn Stevenson? Ballin'!"

But besides getting outscored by 21 points by James, Stevenson appeared to give him some motivation.

"Was it a flagrant foul? I really don't know," said Wizards center Brendan Haywood, ejected from Game 2 after shoving James. "All I know is we weren't trying to give up a layup."

James went 1-for-2 at the line after the foul, then made a 3 on the ensuing possession, all part of a 13-0 Cavaliers spurt.

"That," Gilbert Arenas said, "got him mad."

And yet, thanks to a suddenly effective Arenas, Washington had a chance to win what turned out to be a gem of a game, a nice change after Cleveland's 30-point victory in Game 2, and Washington's 36-point margin in Game 3.

Arenas made two free throws with 57 seconds left to get Washington within two points. After James missed a jumper -- part of an 0-for-3 fourth quarter -- Arenas' 8-foot fadeaway with 28 seconds remaining made it 97-all.

And from there, as West put it: "I'm pretty sure everybody in the gym, including their defense, thought [James] was going to take the last shot. And I think sometimes we forget this guy has great court vision. He made the right play."

Which was dishing to an open West, who went to high school in nearby Maryland.

It was strikingly similar to what happened in the first-round series between these teams in 2006. That time, the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards in Game 6 when James found Damon Jones open for a go-ahead baseline jumper in the closing seconds of overtime.

"Washington definitely probably had a flashback," James said.

Even after West came through, Arenas had enough time to try to tie it again.

But a player who built a reputation for clutch late-game performances before having two operations on his left knee hesitated before badly missing a 3 over West.

Arenas was so "distracted" and "flustered" by the way things ended, he forgot about his postgame ritual of throwing his jersey into the stands to give a fan a souvenir.

Whatever emotional lift he might have given his teammates, whatever excitement his mere presence might have given the crowd, Arenas was not exactly helpful at the outset. When he sat with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, his line gave whole new meaning to his nickname "Agent Zero": zero points, zero field-goal attempts, zero foul shots, one assist, one foul, and four of Washington's five turnovers.

Arenas' first points didn't come until a reverse layup in the third quarter, and he finished with 10 in a series-high 32 minutes.

"This is not my team," Arenas said. "This is Antawn's and Caron's team."

Game notes
Above Stevenson's locker, there was a sheet of blue construction paper Jordan gave his players before the series began. Drawn by a member of team's basketball operations department at Jordan's behest, it's labeled "Wizards Climb" and includes drawings and phrases meant to inspire. There are stick-figure men swimming to ".500" shore, others are climbing a rock labeled "Cleveland." There are boxes around words such as "Disciplined Aggression" and "Will and Determination."

As usual, Jamario Moon made a joke.

The affable 27-year-old had just watched his team lose Game 4 to the Orlando Magic, sending his Toronto Raptors to a 3-1 series deficit. To boot, he strained his right groin early in the third quarter, and did not return to the game.

The pain was serious, Moon said sAturday. "I wouldn't wish that pain on anybody," he added as Kris Humphries, whose locker is next to Moon's in Toronto's locker room, walked by him. "Except for Hump."

Fortunately, the injury will likely not keep Moon out of Monday's Game 5, meaning he should make his third straight start.

"He said he was a little sore but I would expect him to play," coach Sam Mitchell said in Orlando on Sunday. "We need that energy and we need the intangibles that Jamario gives us."

Moon said that he could have returned to Saturday's game if Mitchell had wanted to use him.

The Phoenix Suns tried to stave off elimination against the Spurs on Sunday without the services of swingman Grant Hill, who sat with a groin injury.

Phoenix hosted the Spurs in Game 4 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series on Sunday. San Antonio, up 3-0, tried to complete a four-game sweep.

Hill has struggled with the injury throughout the series, and it has showed in his play. The oft-injured 12-year veteran, who averaged 13.1 points and five rebounds per game this season, scored only 12 points total in the first three games of the series.


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Cleveland 100, Washington 97

King James got his crown knocked off, was booed every time he touched the ball, went 0-for-3 in the fourth quarter and passed up a chance to take the winning shot.

And his Cleveland Cavaliers still beat the Washington Wizards.

LeBron James had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and dished the ball to Delonte West for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left Sunday, helping the Cavaliers get past the Wizards 100-97 to take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series.

Copyright 2007 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

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Mehmet Okur can expect to get something nice from teammate Deron Williams.

Okur bailed out Williams when he missed two free throws with 7.3 seconds left, then Okur made two from the line to seal an 86-82 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday that put the Jazz up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series.

"Memo saved my butt. I ought to give him something. I ought to buy him a car or something,'' Williams said.

Okur had 18 rebounds, Carlos Boozer added 14 and the Jazz made up for some dismal outside shooting by controlling the lane.

"I tried to get myself going, stay active and mix my game up a little bit,'' Okur said. "The ball didn't fall for us, especially from the 3-point line tonight, but we were able to get the rebounds and get to the free throw line.''

Williams scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, starting an 8-0 run after Houston had trimmed a 16-point lead to just one with 10:39 left.

In the final minute, the Rockets did it again, with Shane Battier and Rafer Alston hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to cut an eight point lead to two.

Houston got another break when Williams, one of Utah's better free throw shooters, missed both attempts, but Okur was there when the ball bounced off the rim and pulled down the biggest board of the night. Okur drew a foul, then sealed it with two from the line with 5.5 seconds to go.

The Jazz didn't make a 3-pointer - going 0-for-14 from beyond the arc. But they did play better inside than Game 3, which the Rockets dominated inside while cutting the series lead to 2-1, and can wrap up the series with a win Tuesday in Houston.

"We matched them on the inside play. That mattered a great deal more than what happened on the 3-point line,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.

Tracy McGrady, who is 0-6 in playoff series, scored 23 points to lead the Rockets. McGrady was taunted with the chant "Over-Rated!'' when he went to the foul line late in the game. He scored just four points in another quiet final quarter.

Through four games, he has scored a total of 12 points in the final quarter - and seven of those came in a 94-92 win in Game 3 that revived the Rockets' hopes of going back to Houston with a possible 2-2 tie. Instead, it's a 3-1 deficit against a Utah team which won the first two games at the Toyota Center.

"It was more physical in this game. They were bodying me up and that's their game plan. I was still pushing through it, getting my shot,'' McGrady said. "We put ourselves in a great position in the fourth quarter.''

After Allston's 3-pointer cut the lead to two, Kyle Korver answered with two free throws for Utah to make it 84-80 with 12.5 seconds left. Then after Carl Landry put back an offensive rebound, Williams had a chance to seal it for the Jazz.

After his first miss, he still had a chance to put Utah back up by three. But he missed again, seeming to surprising everyone but Okur.

"That was huge. That was the play of the game right there,'' Utah's Matt Harpring said.

Andrei Kirilenko added an exclamatory block as the buzzer sounded and the Jazz left the court one win away from advancing. Kirilenko scored 11 and Ronnie Brewer had 12 points and two blocks as all five Utah starters scored in double figures.

After falling behind by 16 early in the third, Houston rallied to get within five points at the end of the period and continued to push early in the fourth to almost completely erase Utah's lead. Bobby Jackson and Landry hit two free throws each and Alston took a steal in all alone for a layup to cut the lead down to 68-67 with 10:39 left in the game.

"The one thing about this team is that they don't quit. They never give up,'' Houston coach Rick Adelman said. "It was a tough game. We just have to come back and regroup and get that game back in Houston.''

Williams took control for Utah by driving for two layups to start an 8-0 run. Harpring knocked the ball out of McGrady's hands, Williams bounced a pass to Boozer in the lane for an easy basket, then Korver made a 19-footer that put Utah back ahead 76-67 with 6 minutes left.

McGrady didn't score in the fourth until his layup over Boozer got Houston within 76-69 with 5:40 remaining. He had a chance to get the Rockets within two, but went 1-for-2 from the foul line twice.

McGrady also led Houston with eight assists and 10 rebounds, but the Rockets were outrebounded 48-41.

Notes: Jazz G Jason Hart missed the game with the stomach flu. ... The Rockets closed the first quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 23-21 lead into the second. ... After missing 13 free throws in Game 3, the Jazz improved Saturday by going 24-for-31 from the line. ... Battier scored 10 and Landry added 13 points for Houston.

The Denver Nuggets just can't seem to keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check.

Bryant led a balanced offense with 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 on Saturday.

Game 4 is Monday night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center.

For once, the Nuggets clamped down on defense, but their high-flying offense went AWOL as Anthony and Iverson had their worst performance together since the two superstars first teamed up 16 months ago.

"I was getting to the basket, I just wasn't finishing," Iverson said. "And the same thing happened to 'Melo."

Anthony and A.I. shot a combined 10-for-38 and finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

No thanks to the Lakers, either, suggested coach Phil Jackson.

"I thought our defense packed it in on them, but they missed some easy shots," Jackson said. "I told the team at halftime, 'They're not going to shoot like this for the whole game. They missed some close shots, some shots they usually make. We'll have to play better defense in the second half.'

"But they never showed up. They never got it going."

Iverson sat out all but 1:11 of the fourth quarter, when Nuggets coach George Karl emptied his bench, prompting Anthony to accuse the team of quitting.

"In a game like tonight, on our home court, us giving up as a whole is uncalled for," Anthony fumed. "Yeah. We quit. Everybody. From the coaches to the players, we quit. And I said it.

"I'm not blaming anyone. I'm not pointing the fingers at nobody. I didn't play worth a (expletive) tonight, and I can accept that. But as a competitor, there's no way that I should lay down and quit and lay down on my team like we did tonight."

Anthony said the Nuggets surrendered in the third quarter, although Karl didn't empty his bench until the fourth quarter.

"You could just sense it," Anthony said. "I'm saying 'we,' because I'm part of this, too. I'm saying I quit. We all just gave up."

At least one teammate concurred.

"That's the way it seemed," Kenyon Martin said. "Everybody came out of the game. A.I. came out, and he leads the league in minutes. It's frustrating."

"Well, I don't think I quit," Karl retorted. "... In the fourth quarter, I tried to find some answers. ... I don't think that's a fair, I think 'Melo's emotional right now, he's frustrated right now, as we all are."

Bryant said he never sensed the Nuggets had given up until the very end.

"Well, they're down 20-something points with two minutes to go," Bryant said. "But not until that point."

Bryant had a placid first half himself (8 points of 3-of-8 shooting) but scored nine quick points in the third quarter to put the Lakers ahead 64-51 and quiet the Pepsi Center crowd that loves to hate him.

Bryant has always played well in Colorado, where fans have persistently heckled him ever since he was charged with sexual assault at a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains in 2003, even after the criminal case was dismissed and a civil suit settled.

Anthony drew a technical foul -- Denver's seventh in the series -- after he was stripped on his way to the basket, leading to a breakaway by Bryant that stretched the Lakers' lead to 78-61 with 2:33 left in the third.

Los Angeles took an 83-64 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back as Karl sent in the likes of Yakhouba Diawara, Chucky Atkins and Steven Hunter into the game.

Is that quitting? No way, said Eduardo Najera.

"We can point fingers but at the end of the day we missed shots. Tonight, we just missed a lot of layups, easy, wide-open shots," Najera said.

The Nuggets, who have lost seven straight playoff games, figured they could get to the rim and the foul line more than they had in the first two games in Los Angeles. They got to the rim all right, but the shots didn't fall and the whistles didn't sound.

By Karl's count, Anthony and Iverson were 1-for-20 on layups.

The Nuggets limped to the locker room trailing 53-46 at halftime with 'Melo and A.I. a combined 5-for-21, pretty much negating the boost they got from forward Linas Kleiza's start despite a hyper-extended elbow. He finished with 15 points and nine boards.

"Your spirits have to be broken somewhat if you're the home team after a game like today, but you don't make it to this level if you aren't resilient," Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. "You always come back the next time feeling you can do the things better that you didn't do the time before."

Iverson had no answers on this night.

"I've been in a lot of playoff series," he said. "I don't think I've ever been this frustrated."

Neither has Anthony.

"In my five years here, this is the first time I've felt like this," Anthony said. "This one hurt. It hurt bad."

Notes: Luke Walton added 15 points off the bench for Los Angeles, and Pau Gasol and Fisher each scored 14. ... Lakers F Ronny Turiaf, who lost 11 pounds and missed Game 2 with tonsillitis, was scoreless in three minutes. ... Nuggets C Marcus Camby was held scoreless in a playoff game for the first time since 2000.