LeBron James added another gem to his career highlight reel on Thursday night, April 20, leading a victorious Cleveland Cavaliers into the history books with a comeback from a 26 point half-time deficit [the largest ever in the NBA postseason].
The Cavs' chances of going up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference series looked close to nil going into the 3rd quarter. The Pacers had surmounted a commanding 74-49 lead. The 74 points put up by Indiana accounted for a franchise record, and left the Cavs with a 1.2% win probability, according to ESPN. But Cleveland was able to pull within 7 points by the 4th quarter, outplaying the Pacers by logging 35 points to their 17.
With the score at 91-84 heading into the final set, coach Tyronn Lue substituted Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, who had combined for 26 points on 8-of-29 shooting, for a stronger defensive unit, and entrusted in the hot hand of James to carry the Cavaliers the rest of the way. The strategy would prove to pay off by the 6:28 mark, when an explosive Lebron dunk put his squad ahead 100-98. From that point, there was no looking back, as James continued on his way to a 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists stat line, while accounting for 73 of the teams scored or assisted points. And in collecting his 5,640th point in the 119-114 win, James passed Kobe Bryant to pull into 3rd place on the all time post season scoring list.
Source: hotnewhiphop.com
