The clock was ticking down and his team was down big, 27 points in the third quarter. LeBron James had to channel his inner Jack Bauer and rescue his crew on Wednesday night in order to extend the Heat's consecutive victories streak to 24*. Like Bauer, James methodically more than maliciously tied up his foe and beat them. Make no mistake, it was torturous for Cleveland, already in agony over the absence of the affirmed-out or assumed-out for the season Anderson Varejao, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waters. Thus, the protagonist in Miami remained the antagonist in Cleveland. They thought he had already taken everything. They were wrong. As of 2010, their hometown hero didn't belong to them. As of 2013, their own team's double-digit lead didn't belong to them. Suddenly, it dawned on them (with the exception of Dan Gilbert) that they didn't own LeBron, he owned them.
The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes due to faulty scoreboard. At the conclusion of the contest, the Cavaliers must've thought it was still malfunctioning because in less than nine minutes of game time, LeBron erased Cleveland's lead like he was working on a chalk board. Not even a fan rushing the court - an ignoramus interruptus - could cease James' concentration in the fourth quater, as he compiled 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to tally a triple-double of 25-12-10.
"This was one of the most bizarre, unique days of my life," James reflected. Funny, the crowd in Cleveland feels the same. In fact, this is the second one they've been through. With apologies to Robert Frost, LeBron has championship promises to keep, while the Cavs have C.J. Miles, who missed a three to tie at the end, to go before they sleep.
*Admit it, you hear the "beep, beep, beeeeeeep" sound effect in your head.
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