Magic Johnson, during ABC’s NBA Half Time show, had a message to Hawks’ fans; “don’t boo Lebron James“.
As he has done several times in his career, the reigning MVP, Lebron James, took a personal interest in punishing those fans by assembling perhaps his second greatest playoff game on record. These fans became witnesses and in the closing seconds he got loud “M-V-P” chants from the crowd.
James nailed 15 of 25 shots and five 3-pointers for 47 points. He added 12 rebounds and eight assists for his most prolific game of the playoffs thus far.
“I gave it all I had, I knew how important this game was,” said James. “A series is turned in Game 3s; you either go up 3-0 or it’s 2-1, so we handled our business,†said the team-first superstar. “That’s the important thing. No game is won in one or two or three games. So (on Monday) we have to bring the same intensity we did tonight.â€
All of the Hawks’ injured players were able to play and Joe Johnson had an impressive 21 points. Al Horford and Marvin Williams also returned from injuries. Flip Murray provided a spark off the bench with 17 points
No team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had his best game of the series, going 6-for-9 from the floor for 14 points to go with eight boards. Delonte West had 12 points and four assists.
The Cavaliers became the first team in the NBA to win seven straight postseason games by double-figures.