CLEVELAND (AP)—Michael Jordan no longer has the most famous buzzer-beater inCleveland sports history.
The Shot has been topped.
LeBron James(notes) made one better.
James dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the key over Orlando’s HedoTurkoglu(notes) as the final horn sounded Friday night to give the Cavaliers, theirseason a heartbeat from major trouble, a 96-95 victory over the Magic thatevened the Eastern Conference finals at one game apiece.
From 23 feet—matching his jersey number and Jordan’s—James hit a shotthat will go down as one of the defining moments in a career that’s just hittingits stride.
“That guy is not in the league any more,” James said of Jordan. “Theother 23 is on the good side now.”
Taking the inbounds pass from Mo Williams(notes), James only had time to turn hisshoulders toward the rim and fire. As the high-arcing shot dropped through,James sprinted into the arms of his delirious teammates as 20,562 stunned fanshugged in disbelief.
“You couldn’t hear anything but a roar,” James said. “Those fans deservedit. That was the biggest shot I’ve made in my career. A second is a long timefor me, for others it’s very short. As a kid you practice those moments.”
In the past, this was the kind of shot that happened against the Cavs.Jordan’s jumper in 1989 over Craig Ehlo eliminated Cleveland from the playoffs—a punch-in-the-stomach moment burned into the psyche of every Cleveland fan.
Well, James is changing everything around here.
Game 3 is Sunday night in Orlando, where the Magic beat the Cavaliers twicethis season and thumped them by 29 points on April 3.
One second before James’ shot, Turkoglu hit a 12-footer in the lane to givethe Magic, who overcame a 23-point deficit in the first half, a 95-93 lead.Cleveland called a timeout and set up a play for James, the league’s MVP whofinished with 35 points.
James darted toward the basket to create some room on Turkoglu and then cutback near the top of the circle before letting loose with the biggest shot inhis 24 years. After seeing James’ only 3-pointer of the game fall, Williamsdropped to his knees and pounded the floor with his right hand as Quicken LoansArena shook to its core.
“I was punch drunk,” Williams said. “I was stuck. I couldn’t move.”
Officials looked at the replay to make sure it should count.
There was no doubt.
“We just couldn’t afford to go down 0-2,” James said. “That’s just agreat shot. Now we have to get ready for Game 3. There’s a lot to clean up.”
Rashard Lewis(notes) scored 23 points and Turkoglu had 21 for the Magic, who havenow lost four games at the buzzer in these playoffs. Dwight Howard(notes) scored 10—20 below his Game 1 performance—and added 18 rebounds.
Williams had 19 points—on 7-of-21 shooting—and Zydrunas Ilguaskas had 12points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland.
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy was upset with his decision to guard James onthe last play.
“That one obviously hurts quite a bit,” he said. “I’d like to have thatlast one back from a coaching standpoint,” he said. “I should have defended itdifferently. It’s crushing enough to lose as a coach, but when you feel likeyou’re the guy who could’ve made the difference, it hurts a lot more.
“I just want to win and we should have won.”
Like the hand powder James famously blows above his head before every game,Cleveland’s season was on the verge of disappearing into thin air.
Their offense out of whack and their defense not up to its usual standards,the Cavaliers let the Magic overcome a huge deficit for the second straightgame.
Turkoglu’s 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds left had tied it 93-93, and the Cavsappeared to take the lead on James’ left-handed layup over Howard. But he wascalled for traveling, one of several calls that could have gone either way in asecond half filled with whistles.
“That walk—great call by the refs,” James said, “glad I had a chance toredeem myself.”
Turkoglu’s shot over Sasha Pavlovic(notes), who gave the Cavs a lift off the benchwith nine points, had Cleveland fans reliving all those moments of sportsheartbreak—Jordan’s Shot, John Elway’s Drive, The Fumble—that have led tothe city’s 45-year championship drought.
James, though, the kid from down the Interstate in nearby Akron, restoredtheir confidence that this might finally be Cleveland’s season.An amazing player,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “To have the wherewithalto have that type of confidence in yourself, to know there’s one second on theclock and you’re ending this thing right now … not many people could do it. Anamazing shot by an amazing player. That’s what great players do.”
Down by 23 in the second quarter the Magic, who won the opener by one point,were within 12 at halftime.
By the end of the third they had cut it to six, and when Lewis backed downDelonte West(notes) and scored on a short jumper with 6:12 left, Orlando had tied it at84-all.
For a few seconds, it looked as if Turkoglu would be the hero and the Magicwould be halfway to their first appearance in the finals since 1995.
James wouldn’t allow it.
“I’m shocked anybody would make that shot,” Howard said. “Everybody iswatching. I know I won’t be able to sleep and the rest of my teammates won’t beable to sleep. We’ve got to get over it.”
Notes
In the playoffs, James is averaging 34.7 points on 55 percent shooting.… Howard has had a double-double in all 15 postseason games. … The officialsmissed what should have been a technical foul on Williams in the first quarterfor throwing the ball at Howard’s back. … An elderly man was taken for medicaltreatment after Williams crashed into him while chasing a loose ball. As the fanwas being transported from the floor in a wheelchair, Williams came over and puthis arm around him. The man was back in his seat after halftime. |
發表於 2009-5-23 06:59 PM
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