LeBron James and his Cavaliers entered a hostile environment Monday night in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, down 3-1 on the road against the best team in NBA history by the numbers, a team that had gone 98-7 at home in the past two regular seasons and postseasons.
A six point underdog and one loss away from losing his third consecutive NBA Finals and second straight to the Warriors.
Some players fold in these circumstances and others, the truly great ones, rise to the occasion and leave everything they have on the floor.
LeBron James has proven time and time again that he is in that group.
James had a vintage and historic 41 point, 16 rebound and 7 assist performance on 53 percent shooting that included an array of tough finishes at the rim and silky shooting from mid-range and long range.
James showed why on any given night he still is and has been the best and most dangerous player in the world, at least for the past 6 years.
He is, as of now, the highest scoring player in NBA history when facing elimination, averaging 32.4 point per game.
LeBron doesn’t go easily … or quietly. pic.twitter.com/xnRlRQxy1q
— ESPN (@espn) June 14, 2016
He has now played in 16 elimination games in his career and is averaging 32.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists on 47 percent shooting. He is 8-8 in elimination games for his career, including winning 6 of the past eight times his team has faced elimination.
Some of LeBron’s greatest performances have come with his team backed against the wall and his legacy put in question. These include his 45 point, 15 rebound, 5 assist performance to stave off elimination in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals in Boston, scoring a combined 69 points in Game 6 and 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals to come back and win his second NBA title and last night’s performance.
There are many criticisms that have been lobbed at LeBron James over the course of his 13-year NBA career, some warranted, many completely unwarranted, but one of which has been the perception since his initial days in Cleveland that he doesn’t show up in big moments which could not be further from the truth.
The likelihood that the Cavaliers win the next two games to become the first team in 33 tries to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA Finals is still very slim, but even if the Warriors do prevail and finish their historical season with another NBA title, they will have to do it by beating LeBron at his very best.
