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Do IT this week: Layering
Super-human effort sends Cavs over Raptors
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Monday, Jan 07, 2008
TORONTO: In the waning seconds of victory, LeBron James bulldozed into a group of his waiting teammates, his face steely but his voice loud and excited as he repeated the same phrase over and over:
''Somebody help me out of this (expletive) zone. Somebody!''
The thing is, when the Cavaliers star is in that super-human state, there is nobody who can get him out. Ask the Detroit Pistons last May, ask the Toronto Raptors Sunday.
James was in one those zones at Air Canada Centre, a period in time during which he can control the entire game with grace and brutality, strength and poise. They are still rare enough to be special, but frequent enough to verify why every arena he enters has fans wearing his jersey.
It's not yet clear where this one will rank, but for the moment it ranks pretty high. James scored 24 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter to rewrite history books and lead the Cavs to a 93-90 win over the Raptors.
The Cavs (17-17) have won three in a row and five-of-six, getting back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 4.
James' 24 points were the most ever scored by a Cav in one quarter, edging out the late Terry Furlow's 23-point fourth quarter on Dec. 5, 1978, in Washington and World B. Free's 23-point first quarter on April 5, 1985, in Detroit.
The Cavs outscored the Raptors by 16 points in the final 12 minutes, completing a comeback from 20 points behind. It was the biggest lead the Raptors have ever given up at home in their 12-year history.
James made eight-of-10 shots in the fourth and four-of-five 3-pointers, mixing his long-range prowess with drives to the basket. He also had two of his 11 rebounds and three of his eight assists. All three went to teammates for 3-pointers.
As he went through the motions, spinning around picks, finishing at the rim in traffic and whipping passes to open teammates, the sellout crowd sat enraptured by it all. He did it even while keeping up a running conversation with players on the Raptors' bench and, across the court, with members of Raptors' star Chris Bosh's family sitting in the front row.
''I can't describe it, I just feel like I'm out there by myself, everything is going right,'' James said. ''It's just like you're shooting by yourself after practice.''
James has felt it before in the Air Canada Centre. In 2005 he put up 56 points on a Sunday afternoon against the Raptors. That's still his career high, but the difference was the Cavs won this game.
They did it the same way they won so many games last May and June, by giving the ball to James to control down the stretch and spreading the floor with shooters. Damon Jones, playing for the first time in eight games, nailed two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Daniel Gibson made another, a dagger with 1:11 left that put the Cavs ahead by five points just two days after another late 3-pointer turned out the lights on the Sacramento Kings.
Anderson Varejao was out there, too, grabbing loose balls everywhere. He had 13 rebounds off the bench, six in the fourth quarter. The Cavs ended up getting a season-high 20 offensive rebounds.
''That's the advantage of having guys who can shoot the ball and having Andy out on the floor with his activity,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ''You open up the floor. If you want to play him one-on-one, play him one-on-one. If you want to double him, we have to have guys who can step up and knock down shots.''
The Raptors (17-17) had knocked down shots for the entire game. Bosh had 23 points, Anthony Parker had 20, and Jose Calderon had 16 points and 11 assists. But in the fourth quarter, with the pressure mounting, they could not match James.
After making his first nine shots, Bosh missed his last two. Parker went 0-of-5 in the fourth quarter. Calderon only had one assist.
''I've been watching LeBron for three years,'' Jones said. ''We don't want to have to count on him to go crazy on a nightly basis, but when he does we usually win.''
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
TORONTO: In the waning seconds of victory, LeBron James bulldozed into a group of his waiting teammates, his face steely but his voice loud and excited as he repeated the same phrase over and over:
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