LeBron James scored 44 points Wednesday in Cleveland as his Cavs defeated the Pacers 98-95 to take a 3-2 lead in their postseason series. Needless to say, none of his 14 buckets was as big as the last one.
With three seconds to play, LeBron caught an inbound pass near the right sideline, dribbled twice toward the center of the court then hoisted a 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Thaddeus Young.
Swish. Game over.
Shoutout to TNT’s Ian Eagle, who delivered a really top-notch call on the buzzer-beater: “With three seconds left, Cleveland triggers in. James. Two seconds. One second. For the win. Ohhhh. LeBron James delivers. That’s a winner, in Cleveland.”
James’ shot Wednesday joins a long list of game-winners he’s hit during his playoff career, from the famous catch-and-shoot 3-pointer against Orlando in 2009 to the last-second lay-in against Indiana in 2013 to his jumper from the corner against Chicago in 2015. This one gets bonus points, however, for the fact that it came mere moments after another clutch play, a block on a Victor Oladipo lay-up attempt that kept the game tied and set up his buzzer-beater.
In case you forgot, that’s why they call this man The King.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.