CLEVELAND- The Cavaliers sent the fans home happy as LeBron James came up with two big plays in the final three seconds to seal the win. James blocked a shot then the timeout was called with three seconds left in the fourth quarter. With barely a second left on game clock, James launched a hopeful three-point shot was a no doubter the moment the ball left his hands.
James scored 44 points, making it his 21st playoff game with at least 40 points. He is now 17 such performances behind Michael Jordan. Chasing legends is nothing compared to the thwarting the pesky Pacers after it seemed like Indiana would surely break Cleveland’s heart in the final seconds.
The Cavs made almost all of their free throws, nailing 22 of them before missing one. Cleveland’s free throw percentage was 96.3. The Cavs forced a lot of turnovers in the fourth quarter. Indiana and Cleveland turned the ball over 14 times each. Each team blocked three shots but none more important than James’ block in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Korver scored 19 points and Kevin Love added 11 points. Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points for the Pacers and Thaddeus Young scored 16. Victor Oladipo was limited to 12 points.
The Pacers were up 56-49 at halftime but lost control of the game in the third quarter after the Cavs went on a 24-9 scoring run. Despite the run, the Pacers still managed to fight back before James’ late game heroics. The Cavs won 98-95.
The series heads back to Indiana and the Cavs have a golden opportunity to finish the series as they have a 3-2 lead.
Toronto Wins After 14-2 Scoring Run to close the game
The Toronto Raptors had a tough time against the Washington Wizards for most of the game. The Raptors went on a 14-2 run to defeat the Washington Wizards 108-98. DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points for the Raptors. John Wall led the Wizards with 26 points.