Season series: Magic , 2-1. Orlando had two double-digit wins at home, including a 116-87 rout April 3 that was Cleveland's worst loss of the season and nearly its worst since drafting LeBron James in 2003. James had 43 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the Cavaliers' 97-93 home win March 17 but was a combined 17-for-47 from the field in the two games in Orlando. Dwight Howard averaged 18.3 points and 14.7 rebounds but was limited to eight shots in the Magic's loss.

Story line: After opening with eight straight double-digit victories in one of the most dominant performances in NBA playoff history, the top-seeded Cavaliers are rested and four wins away from a second trip to the finals in three years. But the Magic has matched up well with them and is confident after outlasting defending champion Boston in seven games.

Key Matchup I: Mo Williams vs. Rafer Alston. Neither team would have been as good without trading for its point guard: the Cavaliers acquiring the All-Star Williams in the summer and the Magic dealing for Alston after Jameer Nelson went down. Alston played well in two games in an Orlando uniform against Cleveland, scoring 23 in one and finishing with a double double in the other. Williams struggled against Orlando, shooting 38 percent and collecting only eight assists in three games.

Key Matchup II: James vs. Hedo Turkoglu. Hard to imagine James struggling again against Orlando the way he's playing in the postseason, averaging 32.9 points on 53 percent shooting. Turkoglu seems to have rediscovered his game after a shaky start to the postseason and was sensational in the clincher against Boston, finishing with 25 points and 12 assists.

X-Factor: Mickael Pietrus. The Magic wanted the swingman mostly for his defensive abilities, and it will hope he can help slow James. But he has provided some unexpected offense lately, scoring 17 three times in the semifinals, including in Game 7.

Prediction: Cavaliers in 6

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Western CONFERENCE

No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers (65-17, 8-4) vs. No. 2 Denver Nuggets (54-28, 8-2)

Season series: Lakers, 3-1. Two meetings were in November, one before the trade for Chauncey Billups that remade the Nuggets. Billups averaged 18 points and 7.7 assists in the other three games, but the Lakers did a good job on Carmelo Anthony (14.5 ppg, 32.8 percent shooting) and limited the Nuggets to 13-of-61 shooting from 3-point range in the final three games. Kobe Bryant averaged 31 points, while Pau Gasol had a couple of huge performances in averaging 18.3 points and 12.3 rebounds.

Story line: The Lakers dominated the Western Conference in the regular season, but after needing seven games to get past undermanned Houston in the second round, they haven't looked like the West's best in the playoffs. Denver has, overwhelming New Orleans and Dallas and looking capable of making its first NBA Finals appearance.

Key matchup I: Derek Fisher vs. Billups. Billups is playing in his seventh straight conference finals and is the reason the Nuggets, who've made it this far for the first time since 1985, won't be nervous. Fisher was badly outplayed by Houston's Aaron Brooks and his shot has been off lately, but the Lakers will count on his experience against Billups.

Key matchup II: Gasol vs. Kenyon Martin and Nene. Gasol's 21-point, 18-rebound performance in the clincher against Houston looked like a couple of his games against Denver this season. He went for 16 and 16 in the first meeting, 27 and 19 in the last. The Nuggets' frontcourt tandem will try to be physical with Gasol to prevent him from those types of big nights.

X-factor: Andrew Bynum. The center has been wildly inconsistent since returning from his knee injury, and the Lakers are hoping for the Bynum they saw in Games 5 and 7 against Houston (14 points), not the scoreless one from Games 4 and 6. He averaged 11 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 62 percent against Denver, and the Lakers won all three times he played.

Prediction: Lakers in 7