LeBron James went nuclear on his hometown Cavaliers. How nuclear? Like 43 points, which 25 of them were scored in the 1st quarter and totaled 31 at the end of the 1st half. In a closely contested game, oddly, Chris Bosh was the unsung hero with late game scoring — 11 points in the 4th; totaling 21 — when the Heat desperately needed it.
As for the Cavs, Jarrett Jack led the team with 22 points, but had help from damn near everyone including the waterboy. Five other players had double digit numbers: Waiters (17), Varejao (16 pts, 11 rebs), Gee (12), Hawes (11 pts. 9 rebs), Thompson (10), and Dellavedova came through with an effective 5 points, 6 assists and was a pest on the defensive end.
Not sure if this inspired play came off the heels of Kyrie Irving‘s injury or the pure disdain the fans of Cleveland have for James, and the Cavs didn’t want to disappoint. Hopefully, the team can garner this energy and continue to play better down the stretch. But we all know about the giant tank elephant in the room.
Fortunately, James efforts weren’t wasted as Miami comes away with the W, 100-96.
