LeBron James and the Cavaliers haven’t had much to celebrate lately. The team headed into its home matchup against the Timberwolves on Wednesday night having lost 8 of 12 games since losing to Minnesota at the beginning of January. They were also coming off a stunning 18-point loss to the Magic on Tuesday night after having jumped out to a 21-point lead earlier in the game. But on Wednesday, LeBron finally gave the Cavaliers fans something to cheer for.
With the game against the Timberwolves all tied up at 138 in overtime and the seconds ticking off the clock, LeBron blocked a Jimmy Butler shot attempt to give Cleveland possession of the ball.
LeBron then took a long pass from Jeff Green on the ensuing play and calmly sunk a buzzer-beating jumper over Butler to give the Cavaliers a 140-138 win.
After the game, LeBron was asked about both the block and the game-winning shot. He spoke about how he was able to work himself into position to reject Butler at the rim.
"I knew [Butler] was going to go iso once we made the switch on our rookie Cedi [Osman]," LeBron said. "So just trying to keep my weak side awareness. I was able to get the block and keep it in bounds, which allowed us to get that play."
He also spoke about the shot he hit a few seconds later and said the success of the play was a combination of a great play call, a great pass, and of course, a great shot.
"Coach [Tyronn] Lue called up a great play, Jeff Green gave me a heck of a pass, and I just trusted my instincts and let it go," LeBron said.
Butler, meanwhile, was in no mood to talk about LeBron’s block.
LeBron recorded his ninth triple-double of the season on Wednesday with 37 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds. In addition to talking about his block and his shot, LeBron also addressed the obvious by speaking on how important the win was to the slumping Cavaliers.
"It was a great win," LeBron said. "We needed this after that tough night in Orlando."
The Cavaliers have Thursday off before returning to the court on Friday for a game against the Hawks. But they are expected to be active at the NBA trade deadline and could make one or two moves to prepare themselves for their playoff push. Stay tuned to see what they decide to do.
