The Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The Cavs were able to win thanks in no small part to the play of LeBron James.
LeBron James likely knew that he would need to step up coming into Game 4. After an 11 point performance in Game 3 that saw him fail to score in the 4th quarter, a bounce back game was in order.
The King delivered against Boston on Tuesday night.
James scored 34 points in the Cavs’ victory, his second highest scoring effort in the series thus far. His effort, along with Kyrie Irving’s 42, helped the Cavaliers complete a 12 point comeback in the second half.
LeBron also reached the 30 point mark for the 11th time this postseason.
Foul Trouble
The night was not without its flaws for LeBron, though. James picked up 4 personal fouls in the first half. This caused coach Tyronn Lue to have to sit him for the latter half of the second quarter.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, this was the first time LeBron had picked up so many fouls in the first half in his entire career:
LeBron has never had 4 fouls in the first half in his career. Only had 3 playoff games with 4 fouls over last two years.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 24, 2017
One of the fouls LeBron picked up during the second quarter seemed to be a questionable decision by the officials. James closed out on Marcus Smart during a three point attempt with 8:55 remaining in the period. James seemed to lightly graze Smart’s arm, and Smart fell to the floor as a result of the contact.
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This was James’ third foul of the half, and perhaps it would have been wise for Lue to sit LeBron at this point in the game. However, James stayed in, only to pick up foul 4 two minutes later. This left Lue with no choice but to keep him out of the game for the remainder of the half.
The team played well in James’ absence, preventing a Celtic lead from ballooning out of control before the half.
King in the Fourth
LeBron was able to atone for his misgivings in the fourth quarter of Game 3. He scored 15 points in the final frame of Game 4, making him instrumental in both the comeback effort and the Cavs’ victory as a whole.
LeBron shot a very efficient 7-for-11 in the 4th quarter, and made one of two three point attempts. He also took care of the ball well in the fourth quarter, not registering a single turnover in the period.
James was 0-4 from three point range heading into the 4th quarter, and he altered his strategy to better suit the team’s needs. Of the 15 points LeBron scored in the quarter, 8 came in the paint.
He was able to take advantage of smaller players like Jaylen Brown and Avery Bradley guarding him and take high percentage shots close to the basket.
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If LeBron can play at this level for the remainder of the playoffs, the easier it will be to prove that Game 3 was an anomaly. If this kind of performance is the norm, LeBron should be just fine for the rest of the postseason.