LeBron James Energizes Miami Heat with Fiery Speech to Turn Game 5 Around
LeBron James didn't like what he was seeing.
In what was essentially Game 1 of the now three-game Eastern Conference finals, his Miami Heat couldn't manage more than room temperature in a frustrating first half.
Their high-powered offensive attack managed just 40 points over the first 24 minutes, four fewer than they had conceded at the other end to the Indiana Pacers. Miami had just six assists on 17 first-half field goals, too often settling for jump shots rather than attacking Indiana's intimidating frontcourt.
A noted hoops historian, James knew exactly what was at stake:
"When a best-of-7 series is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 wins the series 83.4 percent of the time
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 31, 2013"
He didn't feel that same sense of urgency coming from his teammates, and he let them know it:
"LeBron on rallying the troops at halftime and beyond: "Before I took the floor in the third quarter, I gave them a little piece of my mind"
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 31, 2013"
Dwyane Wade said it wasn't as calm as the King made it sound:
"LeBron was quite vocal at halftime, mad at his team When asked what he was like DWade punched his fist into his hand LeBron didn't deny that
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 31, 2013"
Whatever he said can't be repeated here. But really, he only needed four words to get his game-saving message across, "Give me the ball."
When Miami came out for the third quarter, the MVP put his talents on full display:
"LeBron scored or assisted on 24 points in 3Q. Pacers only scored 13 as a team.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 31, 2013"
His dominance felt familiar. And there was a reason for that:
""I kind of went back to my Cleveland days. . . in attack mode in the 3rd quarter." - LeBron on @sportscenter presser
— ESPN Front Row (@ESPNFrontRow) May 31, 2013"
By the time the third-quarter buzzer mercifully sounded, Miami's (or LeBron's rather) commanding 30-13 edge had all but decided the contest (eventually a 90-79 Heat win).
Indiana fans are just hoping that it didn't decide the series at the same time.
