Los Angeles - The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't need the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day, they had superstar LeBron James when it mattered most.

"King James" drained the go-ahead three-pointer with 47 seconds left , and added a pair of late game-sealing free throws, carrying the Cavaliers over the Orlando Magic 97-93 on Tuesday night in a showdown of Eastern Conference powerhouses.

"It was just two very, very good teams playing when every possession counted," said James after turning in a sparkling 43-point, 12-assist, eight-rebound effort. "We just made one or two more plays down the stretch to win the game."

Mo Williams added 21 points for Cleveland (54-13 overall, 30-1 at home) to move one-game ahead of the LA Lakers for the NBA's top spot.

"Obviously, it was a big night for LeBron," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "As a team defensively in the fourth quarter, we made some big plays and it showed with our club giving up just 18 points."

Rafer Alston scored 23 points and Courtney Lee had 19 for Southeast Division-leading Orlando (49-18) which had its three-game winning streak halted. Turkish-native Hedo Turkoglu added 16 points, while Dwight Howard finished with 13 along with 15 rebounds and six blocks.

"LeBron was fantastic tonight, but even with him the game was right there to be won," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We had our opportunities, but it should not have come down to a three-second call and a foul call in the end... but it did."

Winners of three in a row at tough Cleveland, Orlando led 93-92 on Lee's layup with 1:24 left. At the other end, Delonte West missed a right corner three-pointer. Brazilian Anderson Varejao grabbed the rebound and zipped a pass over to James, who fired in a cold-blooded 30-foot three from the left side, giving the Cavaliers a 95-93 advantage.

"Being down one and taking a three, a lot of people wouldn't have done that," James said. "I'm one of the guys who would do that. I knocked it down."

The Magic blew an opportunity to retake the lead when Howard was whistled for a three-second violation.

On the next play, James dribbled down the clock before faking Lee into the air and drawing a questionable shooting foul on the rookie with 8.7 seconds left. He calmly sank both free throws for a 97-93 advantage as the adoring fans at sold out Quicken Loans Arena chanted, "MVP, MVP."

After Orlando's Rashard Lewis missed a three-pointer with 2.5 ticks remaining, the Cavaliers had escaped with their sixth straight victory.

"It's important for us to get better every game," James said. "We cannot waste and opportunity this late in the season. I feel tonight we got better."

Elsewhere: Philadelphia 76ers 94, LA Lakers 93 Andre Iguodala scored 25 points, including the straight-away three-point buzzer-beater over Trevor Ariza, and the visiting 76ers rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to surprise the Lakers.

Spanish-native Pau Gasol netted 25 points, but Kobe Bryant finished with just 11 for the Western Conference-leading Lakers (53-14) who were outscored 32-30 in the final frame.

Chicago Bulls 127, Boston Celtics 121 John Salmons scored seven of his career-high-tying 38 points in the final 61 seconds, and the Bulls reclaimed the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, by denying the slumping Celtics another opportunity to clinch their second straight Atlantic Division crown.

Paul Pierce tossed in 37 points, Rajon Rondo had 26 with 10 assists for injury-decimated reigning NBA Champion Boston (50-18) which lost for the fourth time in the last five games, after power forward Leon Powe was injured (bruised right knee)in the first quarter.

Atlanta Hawks 119, Sacramento Kings 97 Al Horford had 23 points with 12 rebounds, Josh Smith added 21 points with 10 boards, powering the surging Hawks to their sixth straight victory.

Kevin Martin scored 31 for league-worst Sacramento (14-53) which fell to 0-27 against the Eastern Conference..

Dallas Mavericks 103, Detroit Pistons 101 German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points, Erick Dampier had a season-high 16 with 13 rebounds and the Mavericks never trailed to beat the undermanned Pistons for their eighth straight home win.

Tayshaun Prince scored 28 for Detroit (33-33) playing without stars Richard Hamilton (groin), Rasheed Wallace (calf) and Allen Iverson (back).

San Antonio Spurs 93, Minnesota Timberwolves 86 "French Flash" Tony Parker scored 24 points, and the Spurs (45-22) trimmed the visiting Timberwolves, even tough All-Star forward Tim Duncan was given the night off.

Utah Jazz 103, Washington Wizards 88 Kyle Korver scored 15 points off the bench, Carlos Boozer had 13 with 15 rebounds, and the Jazz ended a three-game losing streak following a season-high 12-game run.

Golden State Warriors 127, LA Clippers 120 Monta Ellis scored a season-high-tying 29 points and Corey Maggette had 21, leading the offensive-minded Warriors past the visiting Clippers, in a matchup of non-playoff contenders.

Former Warrior Baron Davis led the Clippers (16-51) with 29 points, and Al Thornton added 25.