Dwyane Wade, LeBron James lead Heat past Celtics into East finals

May 12, 2011 - PRLog -- Dwyane Wade, LeBron James lead Heat past Celtics into East finals

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May 12, 2011

From ESPN.Com, By Brian Windhorst

MIAMI -- The phones started ringing at 3:30 a.m.

"You up?" LeBron James asked several friends.

They were now.

"I can't sleep. Can you meet me at the gym?"

This was how the end of James' year in a tempest began on Wednesday, shooting baskets as the sun rose over South Beach, lighting up the Miami Heat's practice court that looks out on Biscayne Bay.

Sleepless nights like this one had brought James here. First in the agony of coping with the greatest failure of his career. Then in the throes of making the biggest decision of his life. And finally in facing down the demon that had consumed him for years.

For many, May 11, 2010 defined James' character, a loss in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics that proved to be a whimpering final game in Cleveland. It was so damaging that a columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer proclaimed Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of that game, "Quitness Day" in Cleveland.

On May 11, 2011, James came to peace with himself. The loss to the Celtics last year when he was a shell of himself, the endless backlash for signing with the Heat and the response to the claims that he was not a clutch player collided. The way it worked out will not satisfy everyone with an emotional chip in the situation -- but it will for James.

He'll be able to sleep. For a while, anyway.

James scored 33 points and the final 10 for the Heat in their 97-87 Game 5 victory over the Celtics, beating his nemesis for the first time in three playoff tries over the past four years. At the end, he fell to one knee to consider the moment.

"Everything went through my mind," James said. "Finally getting over this hump against this team. Everything I went through this summer with the decision and deciding to come down here and be a part of this team. ... All the backlash I got from it. The talks me and D-Wade had. I was very emotional at that point."

Fully knowing he was playing a series that would define this era of his career and be a referendum on his one-man revolution, James delivered several signature performances. Taking down the Celtics and doing so largely with the two-man attack of him and Dwyane Wade was one thing. Carrying the Heat at the end for victories in Games 4 and 5 with crucial pressure baskets sent James into a state he often talks about but rarely visits: being humbled by the moment.

So first he praised the Celtics, a team he respects but also extremely dislikes. Then he did something he's been waiting to do for months and months, something he hasn't been able to bring himself to speak out loud until now, when the sentiment of the situation lowered his guard.

He apologized for leaving Cleveland and explained why he felt he had to do it.

"I knew deep down in my heart, as much as I loved my teammates back in Cleveland and as much as I loved home, I knew it couldn't do it by myself against that team," James said.

"The way it panned out with all the friends and family and the fans back home, I apologize for the way it happened. I knew this opportunity was once in a lifetime. To be able to come down here and pair with two guys and this organization -- in order for me to move on with my career, that team that we just defeated, we had to go through them."

It is fair to point out doing this now -- saying he was sorry for how his departure from Cleveland went publicly for the first time -- might diminish its impact. It's fair to say that James and his two All-Star teammates beat a very different Celtics team than the one he faced with the Cavs a year ago. That Boston team was peaking, this team was breaking down by the game.

Kevin Garnett was a ghost of the player he was in this round a year ago. He barely contributed after the first quarter Wednesday night. Rajon Rondo was a non-factor after his horrible elbow injury, and that doesn't account for his back problems. He didn't even play in the fourth quarter. Jermaine O'Neal had to go to the locker room to get his back worked on. Shaquille O'Neal could barely walk and was in a suit. There were bench players fumbling balls out of bounds during vital possessions. So no, it wasn't slaying the king at the height of his powers.

It's indeed easier for James to lay it all out on the table now. But it doesn't mean his feelings aren't true. Or raw.

That was the right side of his brain being satisfied. On this night, so was the left, the competitor who had to sit for a year while peers mocked him to his face and behind his back.

James' greatest moment in the postseason had been in 2007 when he was the young underdog, blasting the favorite Detroit Pistons away with his unexpected dominance. Getting to the NBA Finals that year was a free roll, his legacy would not be determined by getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.

The past three years, though, have ended in disappointment for James. Playing with weighted expectations, he repeatedly came up short. First the blame went to his teammates. Then it came on him. Going to the Heat was, in James' own words, running toward the help he felt he needed from Wade and Chris Bosh.

With his new team, he was different to be sure. Open to criticism, too. But in Games 4 and 5, when the Celtics pressed, expecting him and his team to buckle as they did in the past, James didn't and the Heat didn't. His huge plays led Miami to an overtime win in Game 4. And then on Wednesday, his clutch shooting broke the Celtics' will at last.

In a span of three days he hit three late 3-pointers in Paul Pierce's face, his archrival he's been at odds with since James' second season in the league when they nearly got into a fist fight in the locker room area after a preseason game.

Pierce always had the playoffs on James. The Celtics small forward beat him in a showdown Game 7 in 2008 when they both scored more than 40 points. He beat James last season when Pierce's defense mocked James' most valuable player status. Pierce even beat him a few times this season, lampooning James on Twitter by saying "it's been a pleasure to bring my talents to South Beach" after the Celtics won in Miami in November.

On Wednesday, James at last got him back, the coup de grace being a steal and dunk that finished the game in the final minute. As he hung on the rim he looked back at Pierce, an in-game beating of the chest.

The Celtics had to hate taking it, but some of them understood.

"I've never seen a team more criticized in my life and a guy in LeBron criticized for doing what was legal," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He didn't break the law, he didn't do anything wrong. The preseason parade may have been a little much, but other than that, I just told him good luck and keep going. He was very emotional, and good for him. I don't think you can play this sport and be a winner without emotion."

This time the celebration has merit. Maybe a little overzealous after the final buzzer, which the Heat will, of course, be asked to explain when the euphoria wears off before the Eastern Conference finals. But there was a concrete accomplishment.

When James at last left the arena at 6:30 a.m. early Wednesday, it was all he could've hoped for.

"A lot of people doubted," James said. "We knew we were going to make it work."
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