CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves hungry for a signature win over a successful team, and while it took an extra five minutes and a buzzer-beating shot, that is exactly what they got.
Cavaliers (31-22) small forward LeBron James caught a pass with one second left and buried a last-second shot to deliver a 140-138 victory over the Timberwolves (34-23) in front of the home fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
“Those are shots he works on every day, crazy shots like that, but it was just a normal turnaround jump shot for him,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Jeff put it on the money, LeBron caught it in his pocket and made a big turnaround jump shot.”
A WINE & GOLD WALKOFF WINNER pic.twitter.com/WjzmLrBTsl
But before James could hit the game-winner, there was a series of events that had to take place first, and here is a look at how the final shot was set up.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE
Although James buried the shot to win the game, it was only after a defensive stand in the final seconds of overtime.
Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler drove to the basket against Cedi Osman with seven seconds remaining in the overtime period and attempted a shot. However, James came over from the opposite side of the key after Butler released the ball and blocked the shot before it had a chance to get to the rim.
The Cavaliers controlled the loose ball and called a timeout to set up the final possession of the game.
BLOCKED BY JAMES pic.twitter.com/WBWqFOgXE8
“I figured he would try to break down Cedi, and I just tried to time it at the right time, use my athleticism and try not to knock it out of bounds,” James said.
“That was the thing. Cedi did a great job of keeping ball-you-basket and not giving Jimmy a clear-cut shot at the rim, even though he was making that shot all night. I was able to get a block on it, and J.R. (Smith) was able to pick it up.”
GREEN WITH THE PASS
Since the Cavaliers acquired Kevin Love in a trade with the Timberwolves in August of 2014, they have had one of the best outlet passers in the game, but because of a broken bone in his left hand, Cleveland will be without their “quarterback for up to another seven weeks.
In Love’s absence, the Cavaliers had Green inbound the ball, and with Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns not right up against the sideline to increase the difficulty, the pass found its mark right at the opposite free-throw line, which allowed James to turn around and bury the shot.
“I was just trying not to turn the ball over,” Green said. “The play was to get LeBron the ball, and I just tried to throw it to the open spot. He went and got it and made a play.
“I did the science. I was trying to figure out the trajectory to get it over Towns. I put a good spin on it and dropped it right in the spot it needed to be. Get out the way and let him do what he does.”
Lue added, “Jeff made a great pass and LeBron caught it right in the pocket and got it right to his turnaround jump shot at the free-throw line. Great execution. We ran it right, but Jeff threw a great pass right in LeBron’s pocket.”
FINAL SHOT
And then, there was the shot.
After catching the inbounds pass from Green, James spun to his left, raised up over a contest from the outstretched Butler, released the shot with just four-tenths of a second on the clock, and converted the 18-footer as the buzzer sounded.
“T-Lue drew up something great,” James said. “They couldn’t take a body off of Kyle (Korver), and I was able to get a good rip screen and just try to sit down, not allow Jimmy to get around me. Once I caught it, I just trusted everything I’ve done in my career, the work ethic I put into it, and I was able to knock it down.”
!!! ICE IN HIS VEINS !!! pic.twitter.com/DjYb1wzprn
