LeBron does it in flying colors—again
“FLUNK it, and the king becomes, suddenly, your everyday dude. Commoner. Cruel.”
That was the last line of my last column here, coming out before LeBron “King” James played Game 7 on Monday (PH Time).
As you might have probably watched it, and been delighted by it for sure even if you aren’t exactly a LeBron diehard, flunking another acid test appeared farthest from reality.
Woe to those who missed it.
It was like, for the baby boomers, missing the thrill of watching The Beatles perform live at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium on July 4, 1966. I was right there, my late brother Kuya Pepito buying me a ticket to the show worth five pesos.
Through LeBron the king, royalty was written all over the iconic TD Garden, where Boston never lost in 10 previous playoff games before Monday’s Game 7.
With the king imposing his will, Boston was doomed, losing at home for the first time.
“Protect the Parquet” became “Perish the Parquet” in Boston.
So lopsided was the result that the only thing lacking in Cleveland’s victory was the administering of the extreme unction to the youngster-laden Celtics.
Did the king rest for even a minute before he delivered the final blows in Cleveland’s 87-79 victory for the NBA Western Conference trophy? Who cares? Did it matter if the king fired 35 points or not, which he did with his usual ridiculous ease—already totaling 27 points after the killer third quarter where Boston was starved to a 13-point output by Cleveland’s LeBron-inspired choking defense?
It helped of course, that LeBron’s supporting cast delivered key plays, with Jeff Green finally erupting with 19 points.
But then again, credit still goes to LeBron, who egged them on endlessly, tirelessly, and, like obedient schoolboys, George Hill, Tristan Thompson and JR Smith all responded, rather brilliantly.
With LeBron registering his sixth straight Game 7 win for a 6-2 overall mark in an elimination game, Cleveland will meet the winner of the Golden State-Houston Eastern playoffs, whose similar Game 7 decider is to be played Tuesday, for the 2018 NBA Finals.
I can’t wait for the king to completely discard the commoner threat to his crown. Such a cruel thought.