LBJ, Cavaliers Fall into 1-3 Hole After an OT Thriller in Orlando »

May 27, 2009 at 4:16 am | lebron-jamesnba-basketball

The Cleveland Cavaliers were down 2 with seconds remaining. Cavalier Nation was in panic mode, thousands certainly afraid to look at their televisions, thousands more certainly on the brink of tears. But this time, a miracolous buzzer beating shot would be more difficult. The Orlando Magic had learned their lesson after letting LeBron James squirt free for a game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2. This time, they put two defenders on him. This time, it seemed like he wouldn’t even get the ball. This time his 38-footer didn’t contain a miracle. This time, there would be no talk of history, no talk of exorcising demons of seasons past. This time, James could not save the Cavs. He hit an absolutely sick 3-pointer from in front of the Orlando bench as his momentum was carrying him out of bounds with 4.1 seconds left, making it a one-point game, but his special powers dried up at the end as his last-gasp shot from just inside midcourt, near the scorer’s table, was off-target.

Dwight Howard scored 10 points in overtime and Orlando, raining down 3-pointers like a Florida thunderstorm, withstood 44 points and the last-second fling by James for a 116-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. In the 62-year history of the NBA, 190 teams have taken a 3-1 lead in a playoff series. One hundred, eighty-two of them, or 95.6 percent, have won. Even in a series when James has set a conference finals record for points scored through the first four games with 169 (averging 42.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists), he can’t always make the right play — or hit the huge shot. LeBron James has now scored at least 25 points in 15 straight postseason games – (dating back to last postseason) – easily surpassing 13-game streaks by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in 2002-03. The last player with a 14-game streak was Michael Jordan in 1992-93. Through the first four games of the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron is averaging 42.2 points per contest. In 58 career postseason games, the young King has tallied 29.3 ppg – surpassing Jerry West for the third-highest playoff average of all-time.

Photos Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE via Getty Images. Photos by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images, Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images, Elsa/Getty Images.

LBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in OrlandoLBJ Cavaliers Fall into 13 Hole After an OT Thriller in Orlando

Advertisement