LeBron James Doesn't Need Chris Bosh to Keep Heat Ticking in 2012 NBA Playoffs

It was a LeBron James kind of Sunday.

From reading The Hunger Games in the locker room before and after the game (sounds like a good way to keep your mind off of icing, if you ask me) to putting in a spectacular performance in the Heat’s Game 4 victory to tie their series against Indiana, everything was coming up LeBron.

From opening tip until the final buzzer, the Pacers didn’t have any answers for James. It’s tough to fault them for it, either. When he puts his mind to getting to the rim, efforts to stop him are futile at best. 

In the 101-93 Heat victory, James was sensational. So sensational, in fact, he recorded a line that hadn’t been done in over half of a century. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a 40-point, 18-rebound, nine-assist stat line with two steals and two blocked shots thrown in for good measure.

James simply refused to be denied, and his determination to dominate means that he gets to head back to Miami for Game 5 with the series evened at two games apiece. He also got to know with certainly that he can wreak havoc on this Pacers team even without the help of teammate Chris Bosh.

He was ready to go for this one. Check out this dunk from James, just a few minutes into the game, setting the tone for the historic game that followed:

Game 5 just got a little more interesting.