James saves Cavs again; OKC rallies from 25 down
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 a kid you always have those 3, 2, 1 moments and that’s what it kind of felt like,” said James, who grew up in Akron. “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.
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.
With the score tied at 95all, 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 the Warrors’ 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.” RAPTORS 108, WIZARDS 98 >> DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists as Toronto rebounded after losing Games 3 and 4 in Washington to take a 3-2 series lead back to Washington for Game 6 on Friday night. HAWKS >> Atlanta and coach Mike Budenholzer mutually agreed to part ways. The Hawks announced the move in a three-sentence statement.
Western Conference
THUNDER 107, JAZZ 99 >> Russell Westbrook scored 45 points and Oklahoma City rallied from 25 points down in the second half to fight off elimination.
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. ROCKETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 104 >> Clint Capela had 26 points and 15 rebounds, James Harden added 24 points and Houston wrapped up the firstround series in five games.
The top-seeded Rockets will await the winner of the Utah-Oklahoma City series.
After scoring 22 points in Houston’s 50-point third quarter in a Game 4 blowout Monday night, Harden poured in half of Houston’s 30 points in the third quarter on Wednesday night to put the Rockets up for good. His 15 third-quarter points matched Minnesota’s output in the frame and he fin- ished with 12 assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford added 20 points off the bench.