LeBron James rushed toward Damon Jones, leading his flock of Cleveland Cavaliers to jump on top of the most anonymous and unlikely player in the series.
James, the Cavaliers' superstar, had played all 53 minutes on Friday night against the Washington Wizards. Jones, a reserve, had played only the final 14.1 seconds of overtime.
But when James was double-teamed on Cleveland's final play, Jones seized his moment by making a 20-foot jumper from the left corner with 4.8 seconds left, shocking the Wizards and giving the Cavaliers a 114-113 victory.
PHOTO: EPA
In capturing the best-of-seven first-round series 4-2, Cleveland advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1993. The Cavaliers will face the Detroit Pistons.
"This is probably one of the best feelings I've had in a long time," James said. "It took me two years to get here and to finally be a part of it, I didn't want to just come in here and be happy just to be in the playoffs. I wanted to try and win a series, and we did a great job of doing that."
James had won the game within the game, outlasting his Wizards star counterpart, Gilbert Arenas -- who had hit the improbable 3-pointer to force overtime but then missed two free throws in the extra period to set the stage for Jones. And in the end, the winning shot proved to be as much of a coronation of James as it was an affirmation of James's teammates.
When Jones cried out from the bottom of the celebratory scrum that James was suffocating him, James told him to be quiet. "We're going onto Detroit!" Jones said James yelled into his ear.
Cleveland moves on to play the best team in the league, the Pistons, with the series starting Sunday in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Wizards, who had battled from behind from Game 1 of this series, could not muster a final comeback.
"D-Jones, the self-proclaimed best shooter in the universe, hit a dagger," James said with a smile, having scored 32 points, including the first five in overtime.
He and Arenas embraced as James walked out of his news conference, the final moment of their memorable duel. Arenas, who had made gutsy plays all series, had shocked the Cavaliers by hitting a 28-foot jumper with 2.3 seconds left in regulation.
But he missed two free throws with 15.1 seconds left in overtime that could have given the Wizards a 3-point lead. Between the first and the second free throws, James brazenly walked over to Arenas at the line and said with eerie prescience:
"If you miss both of those free throws, the game is over, y'all going home," James said.
Arenas admitted to such a conversation, almost giving in to James and his status that dominated this series. "It's his basketball," Arenas said. "I had the chance to seal the game, and I missed both free throws."
With 14.1 seconds left, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown inserted Jones into the game. Jones had made one shot all series and had played no more than seven minutes in a game. He had come to the Cavaliers as a free agent (signing for four years and US$16 million), but after struggling mightily, Jones had lost his spot in the rotation to Flip Murray, a midseason acquisition,
"I just believed in him," Brown said of Jones.
Jones said, "I tried to stay positive for my team and be a professional."
"It was tough, I won't lie," he said about coming in cold in overtime. "I can't say I'm all nails."
He was when it counted. For the third time in six games, the Cavaliers won on a last-second shot. For the first time, it was not from James.
Jones was not the only role player to surround James on Friday night. Donyell Marshall, scored 28 points (his most since his 19 points in Game 1) and Murray added 21 points.
James said: "For this team not to be seasoned in the playoffs, to come to an environment like this, it's big. It shows how far we've grown."
The Cavaliers overcame a 14-point deficit in the first quarter and a seven-point deficit with 2 minutes 17 seconds to play in regulation. James began the overtime by scoring his team's first five points.
"James did what he does -- he came out on fire," Arenas said, shaking his head.
Can James do that in Detroit, where he will encounter the most experienced team in the league? He will have to go through the Pistons just as another superstar once did -- Michael Jordan.
It was against Jordan's Bulls in 1993 that the Cavaliers played their last conference semifinals. The Bulls swept Cleveland.
"We're not thinking about Detroit right now," an exhausted James said.
"We are a confident team," he added. "We are going to bring the intensity we did in this series, and just try and go up there and get some wins."
Spurs 105, Kings 83
At Sacramento, California, Tony Parker scored a playoff career-high 31 points and Tim Duncan had 15 as San Antonio finally shook Sacramento, winning Game 6 of their first-round series.
Bruce Bowen scored 16 points as the NBA's best road team during the regular season closed out a series on the road for the seventh time in the last four playoffs and advanced to the second round for the sixth consecutive season.
On Sunday, the Spurs will host the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks, who finished their first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. The Mavs chased San Antonio in the Western Conference standings all season, ultimately falling three games short of the Spurs' franchise-record 63-win season.
Mike Bibby scored 19 points and Bonzi Wells had 17 points and 11 rebounds in another strong game for the Kings, who were trying to become the third No. 8 seed to win a playoff series. Ron Artest had 11 points on 2-of-11 shooting while playing on an injured ankle.
A federal grand jury added two charges to the two already facing former NBA and University of Virginia star Ralph Sampson.
A superseding indictment, dated Wednesday, charges Sampson with mail fraud and making a false statement. A trial scheduled for May 16 on previous charges of perjury and making a false claim will instead be an arraignment on the new counts.
US District Judge James R. Spencer likely will set a new trial date at the arraignment.
Sampson, who lives near Atlanta, is accused of lying about his financial situation to a federal court in Georgia to obtain court-appointed counsel. Sampson made his first court appearance in Georgia after being charged with child-support violations in Virginia.
Sampson already has pleaded guilty in federal court in Richmond to charges of failing to pay court-ordered child support for two children who live in northern Virginia and have different mothers. Sentencing in that case was delayed after Sampson was charged with perjury.
The new indictment alleges that when Sampson went to court on the child-support charges, he claimed he was self-employed by "Sampson Communications" and had no income. According to the indictment, Sampson was earning US$5,000 per month as a consultant for one company and made commercials and promotional appearances for another in exchange for a US$200,000 home.
Sampson also allegedly denied he owns a US$43,000 sport utility vehicle, which he purchased using a corporate identity, and allegedly sent documents regarding the SUV from Georgia to Virginia for the purpose of defrauding a financing company.
Sampson remains free on bond with travel restrictions.
Iverson suit
Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson lost his bid to give testimony in Philadelphia instead of Washington in a lawsuit stemming from a fight in a nightclub in the capital last year.
US Magistrate-Judge Deborah Robinson rejected complaints by Iverson's lawyers that the NBA All-Star guard would have to get up early and hire a driver to bring him to Washington to give a deposition on May 10.
Iverson's lawyer, Alan Milstein, told Robinson the star point guard could not take a train from Philadelphia to Washington because he would be recognized and mobbed by autograph seekers if he stood at a cab stand outside the station.
Two patrons and two security guards at the Eyebar club in Washington joined together in the suit last year. They allege that Iverson and members of his security detail assaulted them during a confrontation over seats in the bar early on July 20.
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