James leads while Williams fires up team, himself with dunk
CLEVELAND -- Whatever it is that's going on inside LeBron James' right elbow, it's working.
Entering Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston, Cleveland seemed less concerned with The Big Three than it did with The King's Right Arm.
Remember earlier in the week, when the pain in James' elbow caused him to shoot (and miss) his final free throw of the first round with his left hand? Never before had a strain and an everyday bruise been so overanalyzed.
But there's a reason James has claimed his second league MVP award in as many seasons. And it's not because he's gonna let a little thing like occasional numbness in his shooting arm keep him down.
James put that truth on display Saturday, scoring 35 points and burying the game's final 3-pointer in the Cavs' come-from-behind 101-93 victory, giving them a 1-0 lead with Game 2 looming Monday night.
As Cavs coach Mike Brown said: "He is a guy who's going to deliver."
As Celtics coach Doc Rivers added: "I think his elbow is fine. I'm pretty sure of it, actually."
And as the Celtics' pained expressions after the game made clear, they had better not bank on LeBron being hurt.
Interestingly, while James was again the game's brightest star, he may not have been its biggest hero.
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Game 1: Cavs 101, Celtics 93 Cavaliers-Celtics: Series: Cleveland up 1-0 |
That honor may instead belong to Cavs point guard Mo Williams, who looked like he was headed for a major playoff meltdown in the first half. Actually, Williams wasn't even effective enough to be considered bad. He was just sort of there in the first two quarters, when he sort of seemed content to watch Rajon Rondo do his best Tiny Archibald routine.
Then Williams dunked in Paul Pierce's mug, and not even the new Gatorade protein drink can boast that kind of lift.
Following Williams' slam, the Cavs suddenly became fired up, and perhaps more than anything, downright shocked. After all, it was his first known slam as a Cavalier, maybe ever.
"Anything uncharacteristic that happens can spark energy," Williams said. "I thought [Pierce] would block a layup."
So Williams just decided to go higher, to enter the uncharacteristic territory he spoke of.
"So I thought I might try to dunk it," Williams said, and he did.
While the wheels were coming off for the Celtics, Williams' motor was just getting started.
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| Mo Williams thought Paul Pierce 'would block a layup' so Williams went up for a dunk instead. (AP) |
If James' elbow needed any rest, by golly, this was the time to do it.
"It's great when you can sit back and watch your teammates take over," James said.
Williams finished with 20 points and six assists. That probably seems like nothing compared to Rondo's 27 and 12. But when it came money time, the night belonged to Mo -- especially when you consider Rondo had 21 one of those points, and eight of those assists, in the first half. Williams, on the other hand, took four shots, scored four points and missed his only free throw.
But Williams' dunk spurred a 43-24 run, enabling the Cavs to overcome a 54-43 deficit at halftime and 69-58 margin midway through the third.
"I told Mo a long time ago, if he ever dunked in a game, it was definitely going to spark us in some way, and he just looked at me and laughed," James said. "I said, 'If you dunk the basketball, it's going to be so unexpected it will fire up the whole team.' Not only did it fire up the team, it fired him up."
Then James smiled, saying how he told Williams that you can't dunk every time.
"You have to keep guys guessing," James said.
Then came the fourth quarter, when James and his famous elbow finished the job, closing out the game with a floater in a lane (making it 96-93 with 1:45 to go), then a 3-pointer a little more than a minute later.
Afterward, James admitted that the elbow did bother him a little bit, but that Williams told him not to try not to think about it. Yet another major way in which Williams may have contributed.
Pain in the elbow? Hardly.
Pain in the Celtics' playoff hopes? So far, and a big one at that.
