LeBron Rises to the Occasion

For all the slack that LeBron James takes for not being “clutch” he sure does have a nag for showing up for the biggest games in the playoffs.

With the Heat down 3-2, facing elimination and playing in Boston James put up 45 points on 19 of 26 shooting, 15 rebounds and 5 assists when his team needed him most.

The array of shots that James hit all night were ridiculous! Turnaround jumpers, floaters in the lane, three pointers over defenders, and fast break lay-in’s, not to mention the put back dunk that basically broke the Celtics’ back’s (see below).

This isn’t the first time that LeBron has done something like this in the postseason. In 2009 against Orlando LeBron scored 49 points, grabbed 6 boards, and dished out 8 assists in a Game 1 loss. In 2007 against Detroit he dropped 48 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists on the Pistons in a 109-107 win in double overtime. He scored 29 of his 48 points in the fourth quarter and overtimes. He also scored 47 points, and added 12 rebounds and 8 assists in a 2009 playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks to move the Cavaliers to a 3-0 lead in the series. Even earlier in these playoffs James scored 40 points with 18 rebounds in Game 4 against Indiana with the Heat down 2-1 in the series.

The point here is that for all the criticism James takes for this and that, he is the most dominating player in the NBA and when he is called upon to carry his team he, more often than not, rises to the occasion.