LeBron Saves Cleveland Cavaliers Again

The hot-and-cold Cleveland Cavaliers have LeBron James to thank for securing their 3 – 2 lead in their NBA playoff series.

Cleveland seized the Round 1 advantage against the Indiana Pacers with a last second 98 -95 win on Wednesday night.

LeBron James scored the winning basket, a step-back three pointer from deep after a block on Victor Oladipo. In possession with 3 seconds left, he was ice cool on the court as he secured Game 5 for Cleveland.

It put an exclamation point on a dominant performance which gave the Cavaliers control of their playoff destiny. LeBron James finished with 44 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists to save the teams’ blushes.

Wednesday night was James’ second 40 point game in the series, and his 21st in his postseason career. He is now second behind Michael Jordan (38) for 40 point playoff games.

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Cleveland was lucky that LeBron was on form. It surrendered a double-digit second-half lead against the Pacers for the fourth time in the series. James’ teammates could have learned from his composure on the night. Kevin Love was 2-of-11 and JR Smith was 0-of-8.

The sloppiness of the game was highlighted by the fact that James’ winner was the first basket in 7 minutes. Cleveland missed 7 shots in a row and turned the ball over twice in 9 possessions before he intervened.

“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 teams meet again on Friday, where a Cavaliers win would send them into Round 2.