CLEVELAND – LeBron James said it again. He told reporters how he`s not a scorer.
Funny, from the man who is the NBA`s all-time leading playoff scorer and who on Monday passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league`s all-time playoff leader in made field goals.
James scored 44 points on 17-for-28 shooting as the Cavaliers defeated Boston 111-102 in Game 4 on Monday, tying the best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals at 2-all.
He now has 2,368 made baskets in the playoffs, 12 more than Abdul-Jabbar and nearly 200 more than Michael Jordan. (We all know James has played more playoff games than Jordan – but not more than Abdul-Jabbar).
[Listen, any time I'm in the same breath with the greats, I know you guys hear me say it over and over, it's just humbling," James said.
He likes to say that, too, how much it`s an honor just to hear his name mentioned with Hall of Famers.
[I was a kid and I watched the playoffs so much and I was like, I would love to be a part of that, that moment, that atmosphere," James said. [I think it's pretty cool. You hear the scoring, the field goals made – and for a kid who really doesn't care much about scoring."
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No one knows who`s going to win this series. [Only the game gods know that," James said.
But this chorus is on repeat: Beating James four times in an East playoff series is the hardest task in the NBA. Yes, the Celtics took a 2-0 lead, and yes, teams with a 2-0 lead have won the series 94% of the time. But of the 19 teams to come back from a 2-0 deficit and win the series, James was on two of those teams.
If you`re putting your chips on one player in today`s game to do it, it`s James.
At 33, James has put together one of his finest postseason efforts, averaging a playoff career-high 33.7 points, nine assists and 8.7 rebounds and shooting 55% from the field.
[It's something that people shouldn't take for granted," Celtics center Al Horford said. [He's doing great things."
In Game 4, James found mismatches, taking advantage of Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown. It didn`t help that Marcus Morris was in foul trouble, picking up three in the first quarter.
Boston has made it tough on James, especially in Game 1. He had a 40-point triple-double in the Celtics' Game 2 victory, but he found easier offense in the two games in Cleveland.
[He's the best in the game at evaluating the court and figuring out what he wants and where he wants it," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. [The thing about it is that you just have to battle. You just have to make it as hard as possible, because he's going to find a matchup that he ultimately wants. - He's going to go after whoever he wants to go after."
James went to work early, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second. He had 13 in the third and nine in the fourth. (An aside: James has never scored 50 or more points in a playoff game).
[I'm just watching them, breaking down film and seeing what's the best possible chance for us to be successful versus their defense," James said. [This league is all predicated on trying to find mismatches. That's every team.
[If you look at the four teams in the postseason now, Houston is trying to find mismatches, Golden State is trying to find mismatches, Boston, and us as well. We're all trying to find mismatches for us to try to be successful offensively. It's not much of a secret."
James joined Jerry West, Bernard King, Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players to score at 40 points six times in a one postseason. He worked over Boston with his low-post, mid-range and dribble-and-attack game.
But nope, he`s not a scorer. Not LeBron James. Not the guy who might finish his career in the top three in points, if not pass Abdul-Jabbar for the top spot.
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