LeBron James: The power and the majesty
LeBron James had a typically righteous statistical performance Wednesday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers made the NBA Finals interesting with a blowout Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors. He put up 32 points on 14-26 shooting, snatched 11 rebounds and dished out six assists as the Cavs narrowed their series deficit to two games to one.
But we only need six seconds -- a jaw-dropping sequence spanning both defense and offense -- to comprehend the power and the majesty of LeBron James.
Late third quarter. LeBron hits the hardwood near midcourt to grab a loose ball. He dribbles twice with his left hand while holding himself up with his right hand, right knee and left foot. Just after getting up, he passes across court to a streaking Kyrie Irving. Then LeBron takes several quick, choppy steps to gather himself while charging toward the basket from the three-point line. Then he vaults into the air to throw down a thunderous alley-oop from Irving.
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Words don't do this justice, though. Just watch.
Between the steal, the scramble and the finish, this is world-class athleticism, folks -- right up there with anything you'd see in the Olympics, on an NFL field, or anywhere else.
Now here's another angle on the alley-oop, this time in slow-motion.
Also, just CHECK OUT HOW FREAKING HIGH HE GOT!!!
And finally, just look again at the photo atop this post.
Theoretically, of course, there's more to talk about from Game 3 -- the Cavs seemingly being better off without supposed co-star Kevin Love, the reemergence of Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry's strange listlessness and the shocking 120-90 final score, for starters.
But this! This majestic steal-scramble-dunk by LeBron is all we really need.
It sums up what the Cavs brought Wednesday night after two sorry performances in Oakland. It sums up why LeBron -- despite Curry's ascent to back-to-back MVP and face of the league -- is still King James. And it sums up, thankfully, why we now have a legitimate NBA Finals series.
Game 4 is Friday night in Cleveland. As Kevin Garnett once bellowed, anything is possible.
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Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
