With a minute left in the third quarter on Sunday, LeBron James finally went to the bench, but only because he had to go to the locker room. The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar wanted to play all 48 minutes in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. This plan was dashed when he had cramping in his leg. 

James left the court in the middle of a pair of Domantas Sabonis free throws, with the Cavs ahead by two points. At that point, it was easy to scold James for refusing to rest in the first half or criticize coach Tyronn Lue for not protecting James from himself. 

All season, James has carried an enormous load for Cleveland. He played 82 games and led the league in minutes. Against the Pacers, he has had to take on an almost absurd level of responsibility, and the Cavs' over-reliance on him had come back to haunt them several times, especially at the end of games. In the first six games of the series, Indiana outscored Cleveland 157-123 in fourth quarters, for a +20.1 net rating. The tired, predictable Cavs were scoring an abysmal 95.1 points per 100 possessions in the final frame.

To say that things looked bad for Cleveland, then, would be an understatement. But, in a series full of twists and turns, the strangest stretch of the first round followed: Per ESPN's Kevin Pelton, the Cavaliers scored 137.5 points per 100 possessions without James on the court, increasing their lead to 10 points before a Myles Turner and-1 that preceded James' re-entry. He was only out for 4:35 of game time -- eight offensive possessions -- but, given that Cleveland's non-James lineups had been annihilated in the previous six games, it is reasonable to say this saved the Cavs' season.

"My guys stepped up," James told ESPN's Doris Burke in his walk-off interview after the 105-101 victory. James credited "the All-Star Kevin Love" for maintaining the lead. 

So how, exactly, did this happen? Here are four crucial plays the Pacers wish they could have back:

First, Sabonis switches onto George Hill in the corner and commits a foul he is surely still thinking about. As Hill takes a side-step 3-pointer -- an extremely difficult shot -- the overeager big man contested the shot too aggressively and hit him on the arm. Hill makes all three free throws.

Then, Indiana overreacts to Jeff Green posting up Victor Oladipo  17 feet away from the basket in transition. With Oladipo fronting him, Sabonis had to help as Green drove to the basket. Oladipo winds up in no man's land, and with Thaddeus Young worried about Larry Nance Jr. getting a wide-open dunk, Love ends up with a clean look at a 3-pointer on the opposite side.

On the next possession, Love gets a good look on a simple pick-and-pop. Still feeling good about the 3-pointer, Love drains an in-rhythm jumper created by Hill. Too easy. 

Finally, Bojan Bogdanovic fails to anticipate a Green drive in transition, bailing the Cavs out with a costly foul that sends Green to the line for two free throws. Green makes both of them.

This is not to say that James suddenly has a terrific supporting cast. It is notable, though, that Cleveland got important production from its role players with the season on the line. Big man Tristan Thompson had barely played in the series, but was thrust into the starting lineup and had a huge hand in the Cavs' hot start. He finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Lue should think about keeping him in the first five. 

Hill didn't play at all in the first half, but went 9 for 11 from the free-throw line in 19 minutes and wound up with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Kyle Korver shot horribly, but had a key assist to James in crunch time. Love still looks bothered by his thumb injury, but he made four of his seven 3-point attempts. All of this was just enough for Cleveland to get to the second round behind 45 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals from James. 

The question now is whether or not the Cavs can build on this. After James' spectacular performance, he told Burke that the Cavs' second-round opponent, the Toronto Raptors, are a "great basketball team" with "10 to 12 guys that can come in and produce every single night." Toronto's bench is the best in the league, and James has been paying attention. 

"We know the head of the snake is [DeMar] DeRozan and [Kyle] Lowry," James said, "but those guys off the bench, they come in with the same attitude and the same confidence as the starters."

To say the Pacers merely tested Cleveland's depth or pushed James to the limit in the first round would be doing them a disservice. Indiana came about as close as you can get to winning this series without home-court advantage, outscoring the Cavs 704-664 over seven games and losing the deciding game in large part because it did not take advantage of the few minutes that James sat on the bench. Against a deep, balanced team like Toronto, Cleveland will likely need much more from its non-stars to survive.