EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ten seconds of defense by a gimpy Eric Snow has the Cleveland Cavaliers on the verge of their first Eastern Conference final in 15 years.

Snow protected a two-point lead by forcing a turnover by Vince Carter with 1.9 seconds to play and LeBron James rebounded from a sub-par effort with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in an 87-85 win over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night.

While James' performance in Game 4 is what most people will remember, it was the Cavaliers' defense that put them a win away from their third conference final, and first since 1992.

"We always need LeBron to carry us," Cavs guard Sasha Pavlovic said. "If he stops, we have to do our job. In the playoffs, everyone has to play good if you want to win the game."

The other conference semifinals resume Tuesday with Detroit at home with a 3-1 lead over Chicago, and Utah at home with the same lead over Golden State.

Phoenix evened the series by closing the game with a 12-1 run. The Suns, who trailed by as many as 11 points, took the lead for the first time in the second half on consecutive behind-the-back feeds from Steve Nash to Amare Stoudemire that made it 100-97 with 32 seconds to play.With 18 seconds left, San Antonio's Robert Horry hit Nash with a forearm that knocked him into the scorers' table. Phoenix's Raja Bell tried to get at Horry as did Nash after he got to his feet.