Washington ? LeBron James drove around Antonio Daniels, collided with Michael Ruffin and banked in a four-footer on the way down with 5.7 seconds left.

Chalk up another milestone for the emerging legend: He made his first game-winning shot in the playoffs.

James scored a franchise playoff-record 41 points Friday night, including two tough shots in the paint in the final minute. In a thrilling one-on-one fourth-quarter duel between two young stars, James had the final say over Gilbert Arenas in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 97-96 victory over the Washington Wizards.

“We are two All-Stars,” James said. “We don’t want our teams to lose the game. It was unfortunate that one team had to lose, but I am happy I was on the winning side. It was a great performance by myself and Gilbert.”

James made 16 of 28 shots and had five rebounds and three assists. Arenas scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter – making all but one of the Wizards’ field goals in the period – but he missed an open three-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game.

“It went in and came out. You’re going to miss more than you make in your career,” Arenas said. “I missed that one, but I’m going to have more opportunities to make them. … I thought it was going in. It was there, just a little off. It just wasn’t our day. We fought all 48 minutes of this basketball game and we deserved this win.”

The Cavaliers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Washington.

Larry Hughes, who had been struggling all series, scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 4:57 to play.

But the Cavaliers were all about James, who played all but 23 seconds. His teammates were a combined 19-for-57 from the field.

Cleveland's Drew Gooden drives to the basket. Gooden scored eight points in the Cavaliers' 97-96 victory over the Wizards on Friday night in Washington.

The Wizards mixed up their defenses, sometimes showing double-teams and threats of double-teams, especially in the second half, but James couldn’t be stopped at the end when everyone in the building knew he would take the shots.

Kings 94, Spurs 93

Sacramento, Calif. – Kevin Martin tossed in an improbable, twisting fastbreak layup over Tim Duncan as time expired, and Sacramento defeated San Antonio to cut the Spurs’ lead to 2-1.

Michael Finley hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 41.1 seconds left for San Antonio, and Ron Artest turned the ball over with 27 seconds left in his first game back from a one-game suspension. The Spurs ran down the clock until the final seconds – but Manu Ginobili capped a terrible game by losing the ball on a drive.

Mike Bibby, who had 25 points, rushed the ball to midcourt and fed Martin, the Kings’ second-year shooting guard. He drove the lane and somehow lofted a shot over Duncan, who blocked six shots.

Lakers 99, Suns 92

Los Angeles – Kobe Bryant scored just 17 points, but Lamar Odom had 15 points and 17 rebounds, Luke Walton added 17 points and 10 boards, and Los Angeles beat Phoenix. The victory gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series. Game 4 is Sunday in Los Angeles. Smush Parker had 18 points and Kwame Brown added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.