Wizards romp past Cavs by 36 points

LeBron James went up for the shot and had the ball stripped cleanly by Caron Butler, who went the length of the court for a dunk that gave the Washington Wizards a 29-point lead.

That's right. No contact on the play. Even James couldn't call it "Hack-a-Bron." James was beaten on the play and he knew it, much the same way his Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten soundly by the Wizards, 108-72 on Thursday night in Washington.

DeShawn Stevenson and Butler found their games. James didn't have his.

And, yes, those 15 first-half Cleveland turnovers had a lot to do with it, too.

Stevenson had a "can't-feel-my-face" 19 points, Butler scored 17 -- highlighted by an incredible layup move in the first half -- and the Wizards shot 52 percent and took themselves off the ropes by cutting Cleveland's lead to 2-1 in the first-round series.

One game after setting a franchise playoff record with a 30-point win in Game 2, the Cavaliers set another team postseason mark by losing by 36. The margin of victory also set a Wizards franchise playoff record.

The Wizards took control with a pair of 9-0 runs in the first half in a remarkable turn of events after Cleveland's 116-86 win in Game 2 on Monday. They led 49-33 at halftime, and the Cavaliers never threatened to make a game of it in the second half.

James, booed every time he touched the ball, couldn't get into a flow before the game became a blowout. He finished with 22 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 from the line. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, starting for the first time since November, left the game after injuring his surgically repaired knee in the first half.

Arenas walked off the court late in the first half with an obvious limp.

The team said he had a bone bruise in his left knee and would not return. He was listed as day-to-day.

In 10 minutes, Arenas scored two points and had three assists.

RAPTORS 108, MAGIC 94

At Toronto, T.J. Ford scored 21 points, Jose Calderon had 18 points and 13 assists, and the Raptors beat the Orlando Magic, who lead the series, 2-1.

Dwight Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic. Hedo Turkoglu added 24 points and Rashard Lewis had 19.

Jamario Moon had 11 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for Toronto, while Chris Bosh and Jason Kapono each scored 15 points and Anthony Parker 10.

The Raptors finished 12-for-34 from 3-point range and set playoff highs for points in a game and a half (61).

Keith Bogans had 12 for the Magic, who trailed by as many as 23.

ROCKETS 94, JAZZ 92

At Salt Lake City, Tracy McGrady scored seven of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Rafer Alston added 20 points and five assists in his first game in nearly two weeks as Houston avoided falling behind 3-0 in the series by beating the team that had the best home record in the NBA during the regular season.

Game 4 Saturday is also in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz were 37-4 this season.

Carl Landry had 11 rebounds and blocked Deron Williams' shot that could have won it for the Jazz just before the buzzer.

Williams had 28 points and 12 assists.

Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Mehmet Okur scored 12 and pulled down 11 boards for the Jazz, whose poor free-throw shooting (20-of-33) caught up with them.

The Jazz went 20-for-33 from the foul line, getting 11 more chances than Houston (16-for-22) McGrady, who has never been past the first round of the playoffs, had scored just one point total in the fourth quarter of the first two games, which Utah won in Houston to take a commanding 2-0 lead back home. But on Thursday, he found his touch from both the floor and the foul line to lead the Rockets from a seven-point deficit.

McGrady tied the game at 86 on a foul shot with 3:29 left, then gave the Rockets the lead with two more from the line with 2:50 remaining. He added a 19-foot jumper with 2:16 to go -- his first fourth-quarter field goal of the series -- then followed with a 20-footer to give the Rockets a 92-86 lead.

As he was shooting, Landry was drawing a foul on Andrei Kirilenko away from the ball. The basket counted and Landry made the free throw to convert the unusual three-point play and give Houston a 93-86 lead.

But the Jazz weren't done.

Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer, McGrady was called for an offensive foul and Okur hit another 3 to draw the Jazz within 93-92 with 37 seconds left. McGrady missed at the other end and the Jazz had a chance to win, but Landry blocked Williams' shot from the lane and the rebound went to Luis Scola, who was fouled and went 1-for-2 from the line with 0.2 seconds left.

After a timeout, the Jazz threw away the inbounds pass.

Scola had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Shane Battier scored 12 points for the Rockets.

Ronnie Brewer scored 12 and Matt Harpring added 10 points for the Jazz.

Notes:@ Alston returned after missing four games with a strained right hamstring and made his first five shots, including three 3-pointers. ... After opening the game 9-for-29, the Jazz closed the second quarter on a 6-for-9 stretch to tie it at 44. ...

Houston held Utah without a field goal for the first 5:07 of the second quarter. ... Thursday was the first time in the series Houston did not trail at halftime. ... The Jazz were 10-for-17 (59 percent) from the foul line in the first half.