After playing the entire first quarter and staying on court two minutes into the second, LeBron James looked over to his family in the crowd and said words every Cavaliers fan wanted to hear:
LeBron James said he’d play the entire Game 7. He didn’t quite do it, but still was incredible
James pledged to play the entire game. He ended up sitting out at the end of the third quarter through cramping, but returned to save the day.
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“Whole game. I’m playing the whole game.”
He didn’t quite get there in the end, thanks to another episode of cramping that kept him out for the beginning of the fourth quarter. But he eventually returned, and despite looking hampered, James finished with a whopping 45 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists to lead the Cavaliers to victory.
James was the definition of unstoppable in the first half of Cleveland’s Game 7 playoff survival showdown against the Pacers on Sunday, before the cramps arrived. He did not miss his first seven shots and finished the half with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go with five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
In the first quarter, LeBron put up 13 points without a miss. He scored in every way possible to give Cleveland a 12-point cushion after one quarter.
But the Pacers cut that lead down to just four midway through the second. That’s when LeBron went into overdrive.
LeBron scored another 13 points in the second quarter, albeit with a few misses sprinkled in, to give his Cavaliers a 54-43 lead entering the half. Some of his teammates stepped up — namely Tristan Thompson with 10 points — but it’s James who has powered Cleveland to a double-digit lead with all the chips at stake.
James was well on his way to continuing his dominating afternoon, scoring 12 points in the third quarter. But with a minute left in the third quarter, James suddenly left the game and went back to the locker room. Nobody was sure why, but we knew it was a concern because of the people that went back with him.
James eventually came out early in the fourth quarter, but sat until the 8:22 mark because his teammates were doing just fine without him. They pushed a two-point lead to 10, then allowed LeBron to take the game home down the stretch. This brilliant cut and finish all but sealed the win.
Never doubt LeBron James in a Game 7. Never.
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