As LeBron James's path to a third NBA championship has become more and more difficult, the task of effectively describing his preeminence has grown more and more arduous.
After a trio of historic performances in Games 1 through 3 of the NBA Finals, James proved mortal in Game 4, succumbing to exhaustion and posting a pedestrian 20 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Pedestrian by his lofty standards, at least.
Two days of rest did James incredibly well, and he was back to doing the unimaginable for Game 5 on Sunday.
James was magnificent in keeping the Cleveland Cavaliers close to the Golden State Warriors in an incredible, exhilarating, buzzer-to-buzzer thriller.
The Cavs entered halftime down 51-50, but James couldn't possibly have done more - he was responsible by field goal or assists for 43 of the team's 50 points, and at one point had been involved in 16 consecutive Cavs buckets.
Cleveland's last 16 FG:
LBJ ast
LBJ
LBJ ast
LBJ
LBJ ast
LBJ
LBJ ast
LBJ
LBJ ast
LBJ ast
LBJ
LBJ
LBJ
LBJ ast
LBJ
LBJ ast
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 15, 2015
James finished the half with 20 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, playing all but 26 seconds and shooting 8-of-15 from the floor. That 20-8-8 mark is one that hasn't been achieved in a half since James entered the league and nearly matches his Game 4 output completely.
Since 2000, only players with 20/8/8 in a Finals game are Kobe, Duncan, LeBron, Kidd, Shaq and Westbrook. LeBron is there at halftime.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 15, 2015
At that point, a triple-double seemed a formality.
And it was, as James continued his otherworldly performance into the second half, recording the triple-double with 9:23 still to play. He continued his assault on the list of greatest NBA Finals triple-doubles ever, which he may have already set the bar for with his 39-16-11 in Game 2.
| LeBron by Game | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | 8 | 6 |
| 2 | 39 | 16 | 11 |
| 3 | 40 | 12 | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | 12 | 8 |
| 5 | 40 | 14 | 11 |
| Average | 36.6 | 12.4 | 8.8 |
This marks his second triple-double of the series, the 14th of his playoff career, and his sixth in an NBA Finals game, second only to Magic Johnson's eight all time.
James finished the game with 40 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, pushing his series averages to 36.6, 12.4, and 8.8, respectively. Those averages represent a line that only three players have ever managed in a single finals game since 1985.
He's now dropped 40 or more in three games in the series, two of them losses, and he has to be at a loss for what more he could possibly do.
Since 1985, players with 35/11/11 in playoffs: LeBron (2009), LeBron (2010), LeBron (2015), LeBron (2015), LeBron (2015).
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 15, 2015
As good as Andre Iguodala has been and as hot as Steph Curry has been getting, the 2015 NBA Finals could soon join the 1969 edition as the only ones in which a player from the losing side was named Finals MVP. Jerry West could use some company.
