LeBron bails out Cavs with buzzer-beater
CLEVELAND — The game, the series, the season and perhaps Cleveland’s future were in jeopardy. LeBron James saved everything. James dropped a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a crowning moment for another one of his brilliant performances, to give Cleveland a 98-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night in Game 5, putting the Cavaliers within one victory of advancing in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Moments after blocking Victor Oladipo’s possible go-ahead layup — a play the Pacers felt was goaltending — James caught the inbounds pass, took two dribbles and hit his winner over Thaddeus Young.
As Cleveland’s sellout crowd exploded, James hugged rookie teammate Cedi Osman before jumping on the scorer’s table to celebrate another of those moments that will define a career he dreamed of while growing up in Akron.
“As a kid you always have those 3, 2, 1 moments and that’s what it kind of felt like,” James said. “I felt like I was a kid all over again playing basketball at my house on makeshift hoops and my socks as a basketball.”
James finished with 44 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and went 15 of 15 from the line.
“He does it at both ends every single night,” Cavs forward Kevin Love said. “That’s why he’s the best player in the world.”
Kyle Korver added 19 points and Cleveland’s much-maligned defense tightened just in time as the Cavaliers seized their first lead in the first-round series after being down 1-0 and 2-1.
Cleveland can close out Indiana with a win Friday night in Indianapolis.
But while James’ shot will long be remembered, the Pacers were stinging from his block they felt was illegal.
With the score tied at 95-all, Oladipo, who shot just 2 of 15, drove the left side and was at the rim when James swooped in for a block on a play reminiscent of his Game 7 block on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 NBA Finals.
However, Oladipo thought his shot hit the backboard first, and goaltending should have been called. TV replays showed the ball appear to hit the glass before Jams touched it.
“I got a step on him and I felt I even got grabbed,” Oladipo said. “It hit the backboard and he blocked it. It was a goaltend. It’s hard to even speak on it. That layup is huge.” James smiled when asked about the play. “Of course I didn’t think it was a goaltend,” he said with a laugh. “I try to make plays like that all the time. He made a heck of a move, got me leaning right and he went left and I just tried to use my recovery speed and get back up there and make a play on the ball.”
Oladipo’s shooting woes continued. He’s only 12 of 50 from the field in the last three games. He scored 32 in the Pacers’ Game 1 win, but the Cavs have been double-teaming him ever since.
The third quarter has been a major problem for Cleveland all season. The Cavs had tried everything to try and shake things up after halftime, even doing layup lines at the break in Game 4 like a high school squad.
Turns out, all it took was some defensive intensity.
Game 6 is Friday night at Indianapolis.
ROCKETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 104
In Houston, Clint Capela had 26 points and 15 rebounds, James Harden added 24 points and the Rockets pulled away in the third quarter to finish off Minnesota in five games.
Houston will await the winner of the Utah Oklahoma City series. The top-seeded Rockets are headed to the second round for the second year in a row after taking care of the eighthseeded Timberwolves.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford added 20 points. Minnesota was in the postseason for the first time since 2004.
THUNDER 107, JAZZ 99
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook scored 45 points and the Thunder rallied from 25 points down in the second half to fight off elimination and beat Utah.
Westbrook also had 15 rebounds and seven assists. Paul George added 34 points and eight rebounds.
Utah takes a 3-2 lead back to Salt Lake City for Game 6 on Friday.
Oklahoma City took advantage after Utah’s post players, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, got into foul trouble. Both finished with five fouls, and Oklahoma City was able to get to the basket consistently for the first time in the series. Jae Crowder had a career playoff-high 27 points for Utah.
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, and Joe Ingles added 16.
RAPTORS 108, WIZARDS 98
In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists and the Raptors beat Washington in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.
Toronto rebounded after losing Games 3 and 4 in Washington. Game 6 is Friday night in Washington.
The only team in the NBA to avoid a threegame losing streak this season, the Raptors went 5-0 following back-to-back losses during the regular season, and have not lost three straight since last year’s second-round sweep against Cleveland.