The fat white man courtside’s recovery from being left hanging by LeBron here is phenomenal. pic.twitter.com/UQO5UAbvgh
— ?Ross Bolen (@WRBolen) April 29, 2018
In the waning moments of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, LeBron James ignored a front row fan, missing what could have been an electric high five.
On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally closed out the persistent Indiana Pacers.
With just under two minutes remaining and the Cavs up eight, Tristan Thompson swatted a Darren Collison layup attempt emphatically. Thompson ran over to the stands to electrify the crowd. LeBron James also joined Tristan for a quick celebration for the game-changing play.
The crowd was wild with jubilation by this point. With Game 7 winding down and looking like a win, a man seated in the front row in a gray LeBron jersey also joined LeBron and Thompson in celebrating with an energetic roar. Except he was denied.
Let’s be honest, he pulled off getting left hanging in legendary fashion. He walked onto the hardwood, confidently stretching for some dap from LeBron. The second LeBron turned around, he turned his failed attempt at a high five into a monster fist swing. This floor seated aficionado got all of Quicken Loans Arena on their feet, or, maybe that was just the impending victory.
For Cleveland and this fan, all is well, as the Cavs went on to win the game 105-101, finally moving on to the second round. LeBron has never lost in the first round of the playoffs, and this season’s mark makes it his 13th in a row of playoff first-round wins.
He finished the game with an unreal 45 points. He has gotten to 45 points in a Game 7 twice in his career now. Nobody else has ever accomplished this feat. George Hill contributed greatly in 19 minutes for the first time after missing three games due to back spasms. Kevin Love also finally found his stroke from three, as he hit 4-of-8 on his three-point attempts.
Victor Oladipo played valiantly reaching the 30 point mark, but the Pacers head home to assess their bright future and optimal offseason.
The Cavaliers will play the first-seeded Toronto Raptors in the postseason for the third straight year. Game 1 will be on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
