Author: John Blake (Page 54 of 68)

We’ve criticized him for most of the season but the “best shooter in the world” delivered the shot heard round the world Friday night as Damon Jones sinked a jumper to send the Cavaliers to the next round. Cleveland, whose bench outscored Washington’s 57-24, came away with the Game 6 victory as Jones knocked down the game-winning shot from the corner as the Cavs beat the Wizards 114-113 in yet another overtime thriller. Gilbert Arenas finished with 36 points but missed some key free throws down the stretch to give the Cavs a chance to win the game. LeBron may have gotten in Gilbert’s head while he was at the free throw line late in the game.

“I told him if he missed both of those free throws, the game was over,” James said.

And sure enough, LeBron was right. Although it was the most least likely player who came through in the clutch. Damon Jones, who registered less than five seconds in the game, showed incredible poise by coming in at the end of overtime and hitting the big shot. Bring on the Pistons!

With the game tied and time winding down in the fourth quarter, LeBron James had a chance to win the game for the Cavaliers with an outside jumper. Lucky for him, he would have a chance to redeem himself. The Cavaliers were down by one with less than four seconds remaining in the overtime period when LeBron got the ball in the corner. Driving baseline, LB managed to squeeze himself through three Wizard defenders to score the winning hoop for the Cavaliers as they beat the Wizards 121-120 and take a 3-2 lead in the series.

“I had enough room on the baseline,” said James, who added seven rebounds and six assists. “If I wore an 18 or 19 size shoe, I wouldn’t have made it. But I wear a 16 and was able to tightrope that baseline to get a layup.”

The moment capped off an epic night where James scored 45 and Arenas finished with 44. James got plenty of production from his supporting cast as well. Larry Hughes, Flip Murray, and Eric Snow all came up big when LeBron was taken out of the game after he got called for his fourth foul midway through the third quarter. Hughes finished with 24 points and Snow scored 18.

The Cavs came this close to being down 3-2 and with the help of LeBron’s heroics, they now have the advantage again in the series. The kid never ceases to amaze.

“If we can go to Washington and close it out, it will be one of my biggest basketball thrills,” James said.