NBA Playoffs 2012: LeBron James Silences Doubters, Shows He Is Clutch Again

Forty points, 18 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks in a must-win game.

Yeah. Not clutch at all.

LeBron James was all over the place during Sunday afternoon's Game 4 between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. His efforts were a major reason why the Heat were able to even up the series and send it back to Miami for Game 5.

In fact, LeBron's been doing it all throughout the whole series. If it wasn't for him, it could very well have been a sweep in Indiana's favor.

In the first half of Game 4, James wasn't getting any help from his team once again. Dwyane Wade was silent again and the Heat found themselves trailing again. 

The second half was a different story, though, when Wade finally decided to step up after disappearing for what seemed like the entire series. At one point in the third, James and Wade accounted for all 22 third-quarter points for the Heat. 

In the whole game, James and Wade scored close to 70 percent of Miami's points, which still shows that the Heat aren't getting that much help from anyone. However, at least for LeBron's sake, Wade showed up. 

His 30 points along with his activity level finally gave James the support he needed to win games because let's face it, nobody can do it all by themselves, especially in the playoffs.

LeBron James generally gets blasted by the media and fans whenever the Heat lose, even if it's not his fault. One thing is for sure, though. If the Heat end up losing this series, it's not going to be LeBron's fault.

He's been contributing at an unbelievably high level this series and no signs show that he's going to slow down. 

LeBron has also been railed at by fans and media for not stepping up in times of crisis. However, wasn't this the biggest game of the Heat's season thus far? The series was 2-1 in Indiana's favor and a Pacers win would've pretty much put the series away.

However, James scored 40 points, flirted with a triple-double and played remarkable defense in a clutch situation. 

Sure, it's not equivalent to LeBron hitting a game-winning shot in the fourth quarter's dying seconds, but what difference does it make?

It's still a clutch performance by the league's best player. 

So it's about time people lay off LeBron and enjoy what he's doing in the league.