Cavaliers' James Bounces Back with a Big Shot
April 1, 2008
The Philadelphia 76ers learned a painful lesson: On the rare occasion when LeBron James has a poor game, the Cleveland Cavaliers' next opponent is usually in trouble.
James made a twisting bank shot with 19.3 seconds left to put Cleveland ahead to stay, and the Cavaliers defeated the 76ers 91-88.
James, who finished with 26 points, took the ball at the top of the key, drove through the lane and put Cleveland up 90-88. After a Philadelphia miss, Cleveland forward Joe Smith was fouled and made one free throw.
Andre Iguodala, who led the 76ers with 19 points, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
James made 4 of 17 shots and scored 13 points in Saturday's 85-71 loss to Detroit . The NBA's leading scorer answered his poor game less than 24 hours later, going 11 of 18 from the field with nine rebounds and nine assists.
His performance was no surprise to Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks.
"That's what superstars do," Cheeks said.
James patiently dribbled beyond the foul line before heading into the lane for his winning shot.
"The plan was to attack, but I didn't think it was there in the beginning so I backed up," he said. "I was able to get it off the backboard."
The news wasn't all good for the Cavaliers, who played without forward Ben Wallace (back spasms). Cleveland 's injury problems continued when guard Daniel Gibson left the game in the third quarter because of soreness in his left ankle.
The surging 76ers lost consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 1-4 and remained a half-game behind Toronto for the sixth playoff spot in the East. Philadelphia has won seven of 10 and went 11-4 in March.
