LEBRON’S JUMPER DOWNS T-WOLVES
James blocks Butler’s potential game-winner, then hits buzzer-beater in OT win
LeBron James hit a jumper over Jimmy Butler at the buzzer in overtime, giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a 140-138 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Moments after James blocked Butler’s potential winning shot with 1.3 seconds left, he caught a long pass from Jeff Green, created some space from Butler near the foul line and sank his fadeaway shot to end Cleveland’s eight-game losing streak on national television.
The crowd erupted and James was mobbed by his teammates as the Cavs got a much-needed win to ease tensions during a prolonged slump. Cleveland has won just seven of its last 20.
James finished with 37 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in 48 minutes. He also passed Zydrunas Ilgauskas (5,904) on Cleveland’s rebounds list.
J.R. Smith added 20 points and Isaiah Thomas had 13 points and seven assists in one of his best games in weeks. Butler scored 35 points for Minnesota, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 30.
ROCKETS 109, HEAT 101
In Miami, James Harden scored 41 points and Houston beat Miami for its sixth straight victory and 10th in 11 games.
Chris Paul added 24 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds for the Rockets.
Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson each had 30 points for Miami. The Heat have a five-game losing streak, their longest slide of the season. /
It was a good win, but our record still stinks on national television. We’ve got a couple coming up, so we’ll try to change that. LEBRON JAMES