ATLANTA — It's always tough to pinpoint when one player breaks another team's spirit, especially in a game won via a plethora of passes.
But Friday night during a 94-82 victory, what LeBron James did in a single play late in the second quarter demonstrated the startling contrast between a superstar and a team of All-Stars. It also helped explain why the Cavaliers are headed home to Cleveland with a 2-0 lead over the Hawks in this Eastern Conference Finals.
It started with a defensive rebound, one of his eight, and a methodical advance from the right to left side of the floor. It continued once he crossed the arc with a hard dribble to his right and the recognition that DeMarre Carroll, game but gimpy on a sore knee, lacked his usual lateral quickness. That translated into a decision to spin back quickly to the left all while soaring to the rim.
There, James encountered the taller Al Horford and, rather than force a tough-angled shot over the Hawks center, spun again and somehow saw an abandoned Iman Shumpert on the right wing. And so, he shot-putted a one-bounce pass to Shumpert, who scooped up the ball like a shorts ...
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Article written by Ethan Skolnick
In Taking Control of East Finals, LeBron Again Separates Himself as a Superstar
May 23rd, 2015 by Ethan Skolnick Leave a reply »
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