CLEVELAND — LeBron James has played 984 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Whenever it ends, be it sooner or later, it will have been a ride of a lifetime.
Even in a career stocked with incredible playoff performances, James delivered a certified instant classic Wednesday night in one of those teeter-totter Game 5s that often determine seasons.
The headline is James made a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer, one of his step-left specialties, to beat the Indiana Pacers, 98-95, to gift the Cavs a 3-2 series lead. The basket came after a game-saving block on Victor Oladipo — where James’ quick-twitch reaction appeared to allow him to get away with a goaltend — got the Cavs the final possession with three seconds left. Those will be the highlights on the reels that run for decades.
0:57
With 3.0 seconds left in the game, LeBron James drains a buzzer-beater to beat the Pacers 98-95 and take a 3-2 series lead.
But that wasn’t the reason his teammates doused him with water in celebration on the floor. They toasted him because of his complete effort, which included 44 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists with the sort of attack-dog mentality that not only saved the season but pushed off thoughts of James’ free agency for at least a few days.
“As a kid you always have those ‘three-two-one’ moments and being able to have one of those moments, that’s what it kind of felt like. Felt like I was a kid all over again,” James said. “Just playing basketball at my house, makeshift hoops and my socks as a basketball. Making the [swish] noise.”
The Pacers were frustrated they allowed James to have so much space — tracking data from Second Spectrum showed that James had 4.6 feet of room when he launched the shot. A switch had gotten Thaddeus Young, who had five fouls, onto James and he allowed too much cushion.
“We had a timeout to talk about what we see out there and we had a foul to give,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan. “We’re leaving here with both of them.”
The Pacers stood agog as James celebrated and retreated to their locker room shell-shocked. Once they got to their phones and saw replays of James’ block, their mood turned sour.
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The frantic end came after a throwback grinding game that has defined this series. With the Cavs struggling for offense again, James shifted into bulldozer mode and bullied and bruised the Pacers with a mixture of skill and will. Every point was needed as the Cavs squandered a double-digit second-half lead for the fourth time in the series.
Beyond James, it was a bit of a mess for both teams. The Cavs were miserable down the stretch, missing seven straight shots and turning it over twice on the nine possessions before James’ clutch make. James’ hoop broke a 7-minute drought without a basket.
The Pacers were terrible as a team for long stretches, turning the ball over 20 times and repeatedly fouling up possessions. Oladipo was just 2-of-15 and is now 7-of-35 in the last two games.
That’s now two 40-point games in the series for James, and 21 for his postseason career to move him into second place all-time behind Michael Jordan’s 38, and the window is now open for him to eliminate the Pacers for the fifth time in the past seven seasons on Friday.
The game plan clearly was for James to attack, especially when the Pacers switched bigger defenders on him. James made several early hoops on vicious drives, getting the corner repeatedly and beating any help to the rim. His teammates struggled — combining to shoot just 3-of-15 in the first quarter — so James just doubled down.
Over the years, James has learned so many different ways to control games. He’s improved his jump shot, he’s learned to play with his back to the basket and he’s tried to teach teammates to be ready for him to distribute so he can play that role. But this was back-to-brute basics.
James made basket after basket in the paint, racking up nine of them from within three feet by halftime. By the third quarter, the frustrated Pacers answered by just fouling him. But it didn’t slow him down, he made 15-of-15 free throws, the most makes without a miss in his playoff career.
It made up for a shaky effort from the supporting cast. Kevin Love was 2-of-11 and J.R. Smith was 0-of-8. The Cavs bench was outscored 44-18 as Domantas Sabonis scored 22 for Indiana.
But having James is some difference-maker.
“I just try to read the game,” James said. “It’s a chess game throughout four quarters with their coaching staff and our coaching staff and their players and our players. I’m always just trying to figure out ways I can stay above the curve.”
Source:ESPN
