His attacks on the Pacers' vulnerable paint became devastating.
The Pacers had lost their best small forward defender and their best help defender in the paint.
This was an opportunity the Cavaliers should have seized at the very start of the fourth quarter.
But they wasted five minutes on a fruitless offensive flurry.
Mike Brown had Ira Newbell help defend Su Xi. Under the double-team, Su Xi's shot missed the mark. The towering Lithuanian, Ilgauskas, grabbed the rebound and passed it to James. Without a moment's hesitation, James tore down the court.
Su Xi gave chase, catching up to James just outside the three-point line. But James made a bold move. He pulled up sharply from a meter behind the arc and, without a single teammate cutting to the basket, launched the shot.
It was an incredible gamble.
SWISH!
And it paid off.
He raised his hands high, soaking in the cheers from the Quicken Loans Arena crowd.
