Three random observations ...

... about the NBA:

1. The clock read 30 seconds, but the attention was on three seconds. That was the thoroughly unexpected call on Dwight Howard that may have altered the outcome of a late-season showdown of title contenders. The Cavs led by two when the call was made, and the turnover by the Magic allowed LeBron to knock down two throws with eight seconds that clinched the 97-93 win. It was another tour de force by King James, who scored 43 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out eight assists, and either scored or assisted on every Cleveland basket from the 6:01 mark of the fourth quarter on. Rashard Lewis was on the other side of the coin, capping an 0-for-8 night from behind the arc with yet another three-point miss on the Magic's final possession. He scored only six points as Orlando's reliance on perimeter scoring again surfaced as its achilles heel.

2. The Pistons fell back to .500 again with a 103-101 loss Tuesday at Dallas, but there continue to be bright spots in the wake of Allen Iverson's back injury. Will Bynum, getting minutes as a backup point guard now, scored 11 of his career-high 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons clawed almost all the way back from a 17-point deficit. It was the second consecutive double-figure game for the undrafted former Georgia Tech star, who is averaging 8.4 points and 3.0 assists in 15.7 minutes of play during March. He could become a dangerous weapon off the bench, much in the same vein as Rodney Stuckey last year, as the Pistons seek a first-round upset in the playoffs.

3. It was St. Patrick's Day, ironically, when one may well have concluded the leprachaun is lost again in Boston. Injury struck yet another big man for the Celtics, as Leon Powe exited Wednesday's game with a bruised right knee. Without Powe, Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis or even Brian Scalabrine, the shorthanded Celtics fell to the Bulls 127-121. Boston has lost four of its last five, and are a half game and perhaps a three-second call away from falling into third place in the Eastern Conference. But by Wednesday, stirred by the curious call in the Cleveland-Orlando game, he seemed to have awoken, inflicting soreness in Dwayne Wade's hip that will keep him from facing the Celtics this evening in Boston.