LeBron’s Historic Performance
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Watch Game 5 Double Overtime
If you missed it or just want to see it again--check out the full double overtime periods of the Cavaliers-Pistons Game 5.
LeBron scores 29 of last 30
LeBron James scored 48 points, including the Cavaliers' final 25 points, to lead Cleveland past Detroit in Game 5 on Thursday.
All Access: LeBron's Classic Performance
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Postgame Press Conference: Cavaliers-Pistons Gm 5
LeBron James of the Cavaliers talks to the media after Game 5 against the Pistons.
Cavaliers 109, Pistons 107 (F-2OT)
LeBron James' career playoff-high 48 points carried the Cavaliers within a win of the first NBA finals in franchise history with a double-overtime victory over Detroit on Thursday night.
Haier Play of the Day: LeBron James
The Cavaliers' LeBron James puts in the game-winner with 2.2 seconds left in the second overtime of Game 5 for Thursday's Haier Play of the Day.
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NBAE/Getty Images
James had the best playoff performance of his young career on Thursday.
No one was safe from LeBron James' late-game brilliance in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images


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SECAUCUS, N.J., June 1, 2007 -- LeBron James had a performance for the ages Thursday night, putting up 48 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the Cavs' 109-107 double-OT win over the Pistons in Game 5 of the East Finals. LeBron took over the later stages of the game, scoring Cleveland's final 25 points and 29 of its last 30. He was unstoppable as he sliced through the Pistons' defense and rained jumpers over it. Anyone watching will never forget the display he put on. NBA.com brings you all the postgame reactions.

NBA.com: Pistons-Cavs series page
Fan Voice: Sound off on LeBron's big night
Photos: James Photos | Game 5 Photos
Remembering Bernard's 23 in a row
NBA Radio: Calls of the Night
Download Store: Buy Game 5
NBAStore.com: Buy an official LeBron James jersey

WHAT WE'RE SAYING:

NBA.com's Pistons-Cavs series blog, Dave McMenamin: Cavaliers-Pistons Series Blog

"When they needed a two in the fourth, LeBron got them a dunk. When they needed a three in double-OT, LeBron got them a triple. When they needed a stop after Billups and Prince were taking turns putting it on Damon Jones, LeBron got a steal. When they needed a game winner with the game tied, LeBron got them a finger roll to seal the deal."

NBA.com, June 1 (Daniel Gibson's Blog): LeBron's night

"As it was going on it seemed like almost normal because he kind of does that a lot. So it just seemed like a normal performance at the time. But, after the game you sit back and you’re like, 'Man, he just scored like 30 points in a row or something like that!' And that’s when it kind of set in, like, 'Man, we were just part of something historic.'"

NBA.com's Central Intelligence, Rob Peterson: By Royal Decree

"But the Pistons have no one with the all-around talent of James, a 22-year-old who bent Detroit to his will like a strong man bends an iron bar."

WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING

Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 1: Magnificent!
"LeBron James put on one of the most memorable playoff performances in NBA history on Thursday night. James had dunks, fadeaway jumpers and he scored the winning basket in a thrilling 109-107 double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals."

Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 1: Rising to a Level Never Seen

"Not even Michael. Let us get that out of the way right now. What LeBron James did Thursday night in the Eastern Conference finals was not Jordanesque. It was Mike to a max not even he reached."

USA Today, June 1: James Scores 48 in Double-OT Win

"He mesmerized everybody — and posterized the Detroit Pistons with three oh-my-goodness windmill slams. King James played beyond his royal nickname Thursday, and in one of the epic performances in NBA playoff history, LeBron James refused to lose Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals."

Akron Beacon Journal, June 1: LeBron: King of the Palace

"Behind the shoe deals, the millions and the criticism was the promise -- the promise of greatness. LeBron James kept it in historic fashion on a hot and forever memorable Thursday evening in the Eastern Conference finals."

Akron Beacon Journal, June 1: James Plays the Game of his Life

"Welcome to true greatness. That's what the nation's basketball fans saw Thursday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. In the biggest game of his life -- they all seem to be that lately -- LeBron James never was better."

Detroit News, June 1: LeBoom!! James is One-Man Show

"When the smoke cleared at The Palace Thursday, the Pistons were witnesses to one of the greatest individual performances anybody has seen perhaps since Michael Jordan retired."

Detroit Free Press, June 1: Crown 'em? Pistons Season on LeBrink

"But LeBron James is not normal. And at 22, he is likely on his way to an NBA Finals to prove it. He made slam dunks. He made free throws. He made ridiculous three-pointers with the shot clock running down. He hung in midair and rattled the rim."

The New York Times, June 1: James Puts On Scoring Clinic In OT

"Minute after hypnotic minute, LeBron James lifted into the air, suspended in a stratosphere from where only he could see the basket."

WHAT MULTI-SPORT WEBSITES ARE SAYING

ESPN.com, June 1: Watching LeBron Go On and On
"James took this game over like he had never taken over before, scoring 29 of his team's final 30 points and dropping 25 in a row for the Cavs at the end as Cleveland defeated Detroit 109-107 in double overtime Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals."

CBS SportsLine, June 1: LeBron's Game 5 Performance is One For Ages

"James scored his team's final 25 points. After hitting the game-winning shot with 2.2 seconds -- driving through the defense and spinning the ball off the glass -- LeBron headed to the Cleveland bench and collapsed against Drew Gooden, leaning his head on Gooden's shoulder while Gooden held up James with both arms."

ESPN.com, June 1: How Do You Top This? LeBron Just Might Find a Way

"When he was 18 years old and playing his final high school game, in front of a sellout crowd at Ohio State University, his team was in a dogfight to win the state championship game and a mythical national championship. He scored 25 of his team's 40 points and the rest was history."

Sports Illustrated, June 1: Unstoppable Force

"James had already used every ounce of energy to put together one of the most spectacular performances in playoff history, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to the verge of their greatest season."

ESPN.com, June 1: We'll Never Forget LeBron's 48-Point Game

"This wasn't just about the improbable 29-of-30 points barrage down the stretch, those two monster dunks at the end of regulation, the way he perservered despite a crummy coach and a mediocre supporting cast, how he just kept coming and coming, even how he made that game-winning layup look so damned easy. Physically, LeBron overpowered the Pistons."

CBS SportsLine, June 1: LeBron's 48-Point Gem Has Cavs One Win From NBA Finals

"James' career playoff-high 48 points -- including his team's final 25 and 29 of its final 30 -- carried Cleveland within a win of the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history with a 109-107 double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night."

ESPN.com, June 1: Experts: Where Does LeBron's Game 5 Rank? What Happens in Game 6?

"What LeBron James did last night ranks up there with the best we have and will ever see. Before last night, I felt Magic Johnson's championship clincher against the Sixers was the most impressive performance because of the stage and where he was in his career."

Sports Illustrated, June 1: A King For All Ages

"It's difficult at times like these not to fall into cliché. But how else does one accurately describe what LeBron James accomplished in defeating the Pistons 109-107 in double overtime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals?"

WHAT BLOGS ARE SAYING

Steve Kerr on Yahoo!: At a Loss For Words
Chris Broussard of ESPN.com: LeBron's the Best Perimeter Player
AOL Sports: The Debriefing: Fists Full of SchruteBucks III, the LeBron Edition
ESPN.com: LeBron Fever!
FoxSports.com: Where does LeBron's Game 5 rank all-time?
NBA.com: Rick Kamla's Playoff Blog

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