Sorry for getting these up so late. I've merged games four and five.
Time for Camakazee's neat-o stats of the night.
Round 3 Game 4 Vs. Magic
Comeback.
After the game on Tuesday night it became very clear. Either the Cavaliers would become the ninth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit, or they would be sent home prematurely. No Championship. No shot a Championship. One June game... if they were lucky. But while there were many pessimists, it was good to see the majority of RCF believe. Here is a look at the last team to survive a 3-1 start to the series compared to the Cavaliers:
2006 Phoenix Suns.
- Lost three games by a combined 14 points (one game by one point).
- Only win was by 5 points (first home game).
- Won remaining three games, winning their two home games by a combined 48 points.
2009 Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Lost three games by a combined 13 points (one game by one point).
- Only win was by 1 point (second home game).
- ??? (won first remaining home game by 10 points).
Heart & Soul.
Despite coming home to Cleveland without a road win, the Cavaliers certainly showed some grit and determination, especially at the end of game 4. Here are some notables:
- Delonte West and Mo Williams combined for their third highest combined point total of the postseason. Scoring 17 and 18 points, respectively, the duo also averages a combined 9.7 assists per game when they score 35+ points in the postseason. (Note: Game 5 marked the fourth time the duo scored a combined 35 or more points, but dropped their combined assist-per-game average to 8.5 in the four postseason games they have combined for at least 35 points)
- Delonte West also recorded a steal in games four and five, marking a seven game streak with at least one steal. Over those seven games he is averaging 1.3 steals per game, matching his average so far this postseason. Delonte has had at least one steal in 11 of the 13 playoff games played so far.
- With 44 points and 12 rebounds, LeBron James' postseason has been so spectacular that game four marked the second time he recorded at least those numbers (47 and 12 in game 3 at Atlanta).
Furthermore, in his 13 postseason games, James has recorded at least 36 points and 12 rebounds on five separate occasions (38.5% of his games played).
View from the other side:
- With 17 points off of the pine, Orlando reserve Mickael Pietrus tied his career playoff high. All four times he has scored 17 points in the playoffs have come within the past two rounds.
Time for Camakazee's neat-o stats of the night.
Round 3 Game 5 Vs. Magic
More to Come.
With their backs still firmly placed against the wall, the Cleveland Cavaliers hope that by beating the Magic to Orlando after game 5 that means they'll draw a similar result in game 6. Here is a look at how the Cavaliers play when everything is on the line:
- LeBron James once again showed the city of Cleveland what he does when the series is on the line. He recorded his fist triple double this postseason and the fourth of his postseason career. His 14 rebounds and 12 assists were also his highest totals so far this postseason.
- After last night's game, LeBron James is now tied for second for most consecutive 25+ point postseason games since 1980. Last night was his 16th straight game, tying Michael Jordan's longest streak.
- The Cavs are now 2-1 in playoff elimination games over the past two seasons. The one common factor over these games has been the unbelievable play of LeBron James. Here is a closer look:
LeBron James (3 games): 38.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, in all out attack mode shooting an average of 17.7 free throws per game in these elimination games.
- Lastly, while LeBron's elimination game stats are unreal, it would be irresponsible to not mention another Cavalier that showed up in those three games.
Aside from LeBron, Delonte West is the only other Cavalier to score in double figures all three times (although Mo and Boobie weren't available for two of the games to be fair). Similarly, Delonte West and Joe Smith are the only two Cavaliers to shoot 46.2% or better in all three games. Here are Delonte's stats from those elimination games:
Delonte West (3 games): 12.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 14-28 (50%) shooting, including 4-9 (44.4%) from three.
Showing Up When it Counts.
For Cavs fans, the first half of game 5 had an all-too-familiar feeling. Just as in games one and two, the Cavs built a seemingly untouchable lead (22 points) only to forfeit it for the third straight home game. However, here is where the Cavaliers turned it around:
Games One and Two:
- Largest Lead: CLE - 23 points, ORL - 4 points.
- First Quarter (both games combined): CLE - 63, ORL - 35
(+14 points per game).
- Second Half (both games combined): CLE - 83, ORL - 110 (-13.5 points per game).
- Fourth Quarter (both games combined): CLE - 45, ORL - 55 (-10 points, -5 points per game).
Game Five:
- Largest Lead: CLE - 22 points, ORL - 8 points.
- First Quarter: CLE - 35, ORL - 18
(+17 points).
- Second Half: CLE - 56, ORL - 47 (+9 points).
- Fourth Quarter: CLE - 34, ORL - 23 (+11 points).
One interesting thing to note is as bad as the second half/fourth quarter was for the Cavaliers in the first two games, it was that good last night. In fact, the +11 in the fourth last night was enough to override the -10 in the fourth quarters of the first two games, meaning the Cavaliers are now +1 in home fourth quarters this series.
View from the other side:
- Magic guard Rafer Alston recorded his fewest points in a game, 3, since January. Alston was 8-16 (50%) from three in the two previous games in Orlando before going 1-7 (14.3%) in game five.