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LeBron James finished Tuesday night’s performance with 34 PTS on 56% shooting, adding 5 REB and 6 AST.
A cold jump shot, combined with some early foul trouble (4 personal fouls in the first half) kept LeBron on the bench for much of the first half as he went into halftime with just 10 PTS on 5-of-9 shooting.
However, with all of the pressure from his poor performance in Game 3 and the added pressure from having four early fouls, LeBron came out after halftime and was sensational, scoring 24 PTS in second half – 15 of which came in the fourth quarter.
It also helps to have a teammate in Kyrie Irving (objectively the best player in game 4) who dropped 21 of his 42 PTS in the 3rd quarter, giving LeBron extra time on the bench and saving him from picking up a fifth foul going into the final frame.
LeBron James, who has won 142 playoff games (the 5th most in NBA history), is now one win away from making his 7th straight NBA Finals appearance. This would make him just the 7th player in NBA history and the only non-Boston Celtic, to do so.
LeBron’s Finals streak is not the only piece of history on-the-line in game 5. LeBron is now just 28 points away from breaking Michael Jordan’s all-time playoff scoring record.
Game 5 takes place on Thursday night at 8:30pm in Boston’s TD Garden.
LeBron Fact: With the 40-point triple-double put fourth against the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the first round, LeBron James has now recorded 18 triple-doubles in his playoff career, the 2nd most in NBA playoff history. Magic Johnson is the all-time leader who recorded 30 career triple-doubles in his playoff career.
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