CLEVELAND - Superman doesn't know his own strength.

Orlando center Dwight Howard knocked down the 24-second shot clock above the basket with a ferocious dunk the first time he touched the ball in Wednesday night's Eastern Conference final against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard (12) slam dunks and knocks the 24-second clock off the backboard as Cleveland Cavaliers' Zydrunas Ilgauskas (L), Delonte West (13), Anderson Varejao (17) and Mo Williams (2) watch in the first quarter during Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference final basketball playoff game in Cleveland, Ohio, May 20, 2009. [Agencies]

Stadium personnel try to fix the 24-second clock after it fell over backwards on a hard slam dunk by Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard during the match. [Agencies]

After grabbing a rebound, Howard went up underneath and slammed the ball through with both hands and pulled on the rim for Orlando's first basket. The 24-second stanchion, a 5-foot-tall appendage that has cameras mounted to its top, then fell slowly backward.

A maintenance crew came out with ladders but couldn't fix the clock. The shot clcok at the opposite end was then turned off and two portable units were placed on both baselines. A tape measure was brought out to check if Howard had pulled the rim lower than its required 10 feet.

Play was stopped for eight minutes.

The clock that Howard dropped was fixed at halftime and the teams began the second half with both units functioning.