Cleveland, OH —Lebron has done it again.
With his back against the wall — a win or go home scenario — guess who showed up big on Friday night in Cleveland?
Despite the slow first quarter, the Cavs began the second block with a huge momentum-swinging basketball and went into halftime 43-54. The second half was actually won by Boston by a single point, but the trump card in the second quarter was the Ohio-native himself.
For anyone who doubted him this season when the team was losing in the first half, or when the Cavaliers blew up their roster at the trade deadline, or even when they were taken to seven games in the first round — this one was for you.
In the 109-99 Game six victory against Boston, Lebron ended with 46 points, 11 rebounds and nine rebounds — even with (what seems like) some sort of leg injury. That’s his seventh 40+ game this postseason alone.
“It feels good to be able to play for another game,” said James in a postgame interview. “We should relish this opportunity and have fun with it.”
And although the rest of the Cavs showed up to the last two games, there wasn’t a ton of action from anyone other than Mr. James himself and 20 points by George Hill. The 33-year-old power forward continues to prove that he’s one of the best players in the world.
Tristan Thompson ended Friday’s game with two points and four rebounds, J.R. Smith added five points, and three rebounds, Jeff Green and Larry Nance Jr. combined for 24 points, and Kevin Love ended with zeros across the board (well, not all zeros: he had four rebounds) after leaving the game with a head injury in the first quarter.
But still, with the team’s best post player out for the game, the Cavs prevailed. And it would be silly to credit the victory to anybody but Lebron. He’s proved that in do-or-die situations, he comes to play: during Game seven in the first round against the Pacers his stat line was very similar with 45 points, eight rebounds and seven assists — not too shabby for a player that thousands of people call “overrated.” My advice: rewind and watch those back-to-back dagger threes.
Game seven will be played in Boston at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Lebron James looks to take his team to the NBA Finals for the seventh straight year, while Boston hopes to earn a trip to the big dance for the first time since 2010.
It’s going to be a great game: Boston is undefeated this postseason at home, but on the other end nobody in NBA history averaging more points than Lebron in Game Sevens.
