LeBron hits winning 3-pointer at buzzer
LeBron James hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a crowning moment for another brilliant performance, 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 driving layup, James caught the inbounds pass, took two dribbles and dropped the 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 his career.
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 firstround series after being down 1-0 and 2-1.
Cleveland can close out Indiana with a win Friday night in Indianapolis.
Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points, and Young had 16 for the Pacers.
RAPTORS 108, WIZARDS 98
DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists and Torontobeat 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-toback losses during the regular season, and have not lost three straight since last year’s secondround sweep against Cleveland.
Delon Wright scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Raptors.
John Wall had 26 points, and Bradley Beal added 20 for the Wizards.