The Chosen One Drains Trey At Buzzer Cavaliers Win 96-95; Series Tied At 1-1

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap, NBA PLAYOFFS

“Cavaliers Nation’s” worst fear had materialized on Friday night; the Cleveland Cavaliers had again blown a double digit lead to the Orlando Magic and after a 15-4 run Orlando was leading in the fourth quarter 86-84. The Cavaliers would grab the momentum as Mo Williams put them ahead 89-86. However Mickael Pietrus tied the game at 93-93 draining a trey with 40 seconds on the clock.

The Magic had the ball with 13.7 seconds in regulation coming out of a time out. Hedo Turkoglu would take the air out of Q Arena as he knocked down a jumper with 1 second to go and take a 95-93 lead. And then came the shot that will play on ESPN Classic for the rest of our lives as “The Chosen One” LeBron James hit the biggest trey of his life at the buzzer and the Cavaliers held on for a 96-95 heart-stopping victory. The win ties the Eastern Conference Finals at 1-1 with the series heading to the Amway Arena for game three. ”King James“ led all players with 35 points and adds yet another chapter to what may be a story book season.

“Cavaliers Nation” had an uneasy feeling going into this contest. The team had lost it’s invincibility in game one losing for the first time in the Post Season on Wednesday after giving up a double-digit lead heading into the half. Then their fears multi-plied ten-fold on Thursday when they realized they were on the cover of “Sports Illustrated.” Once again the “Sports Gods” would toy with their emotions and deny them a Championship!

Except for the final outcome this game was eerily similar to Wednesday night’s contest. Once again the Cavaliers came out and made a statement on both ends of the floor but especially on defense. That defensive intensity though would vanish after the first 12 minutes. LBJ addressed the issue on “TNT” in a post-game interview seconds after winning the game. He admitted that defensive assignments were missed and that they got sloppy on the defensive end.

If you watch the Cavaliers for any length of time you realize that their offense is predicated on their defense. But against a team like Orlando that has “Superman” aka center Dwight Howard you can not give them extra chances. Cleveland has done that in both of these games. If they want to get to the NBA Finals that has to stop.

The Cavaliers jumped out in the first to a very healthy 30-16 advantage as the period came to an end. They would have the margin as high as 23 points at 43-20 with 7:11 to play in the second as veteran Joe Smith drained a 24 foot trey. But once again the Magic stayed within themselves and had knocked down Cleveland’s lead to a more manageable 12 points at the half as they trailed 56-44.

Orlando just slowly and methodically kept chipping away at their deficit during the third quarter. As the period came to it’s conclusion Cleveland’s lead was just 75-69. The celebratory mood that had been so prevalent during that first quarter was no where to be found during the fourth as Cavaliers fans thought that once again they would be denied. However elation took over when the NBA MVP knocked down the shot from behind the arc at the buzzer.

LeBron James had a game high 35 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal while Mo Williams knocked down 19 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Zydrunas Ilgauskas recorded a double-double with 12 points, 15 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks while Delonte West also added 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal.

Orlando had five players who would score in double figures as Rashard Lewis led his club with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. Hedo Turkoglu who had looked like he had given his team a comeback win scored 21 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal Dwight Howard had yet another double-double with only 10 points, but a huge 18 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Game three will be Sunday night in Orlando with the series tied at 1-1.

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