LeBron James once again carried his Cleveland Cavaliers to a victory, winning Game 5 virtually by himself.
LeBron James is currently facing the toughest first-round series of his career. The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the night tied 2-2 with the Indiana Pacers, and Game 5 looked like it was going to be a slugfest early.
Multiple players on both teams struggled to get going. Ultimately, LeBron showcased why he is arguably the greatest player currently in the game by winning the game legitimately by himself at the very end.
On the night, LeBron totaled 44 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, per ESPN. He shot 14-of-24 from the field and a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line. He delivered for the Cavs in the fourth quarter.
With 26 seconds left in the game, the Pacers had the ball and were looking to take the last shot. Victor Oladipo isolated on James and beat him off the dribble attempting to get to the rim for a layup. James recovered quick and pinned the shot off the backboard.
On the ensuing play, James came off a pin-down screen against Thaddeus Young and got freed up on the in-bounds. He drove left and rose up from straightaway to nail a three at the buzzer for a Cavs win. The Quicken Loans Arena erupted and the Cavaliers basked at the moment as they took a commanding 3-2 lead in the series.
James has been plagued with free-agency questions throughout the season and postseason. However, Cleveland showed their hometown hero a lot of love after the prolific display on both ends.
There is still a lot to be desired with the rest of Cleveland’s roster. Though, maybe this performance reinforced the allure of playing in front of a hometown crowd for LeBron.
Robert Horry ran his usual post-buzzer-beater piece on NBA.com rating LeBron on the “Horry Scale”. Because of the stakes and the play itself, LeBron scored a perfect “5 Horry’s” on the Horry scale for the clutch block and dagger.
LeBron James leaps onto the scorer's table after winning it for the @cavs in Game 5! #ThisIsWhyWePlay #WhateverItTakes #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/jdSiU4TFJW
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2018
The Cavaliers enter Game 6 in Indiana with a huge mental edge. James has been nothing short of brilliant throughout this series. He has carried the load for Cleveland on both sides of the ball.
The recent play might help inspire James and the Cavs to a long postseason run. If so, L.A. may miss its chance at nabbing the marquee free agent this summer. Continued postseason success in Cleveland hurts the Lakers’ free agency pitch.
Hopefully, for Lakers fans, the Pacers find a way to turn this series around. Responding strongly in Game 6 and silencing LeBron and Co. would be a strong signal to Lakers fans. A Hollywood crowd could give a better and bigger audience for James’ heroics. We just need LeBron to lose this series and Johnson and Pelinka to sell him on that pitch.
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Game 6 is on Friday, April 26th, at 8 pm. This is must-see basketball, so tune in.