Did you hear the rocking, jolting insanity shaking inside? A sold out capacity crowd witnessed normalcy on a night it was necessary to avoid a shocking collapse in history to witness a Kobe-LeBron bout remain intact and to witness the 66-win Cleveland Cavaliers reconstruct essence. In a way, it healed a depressing loss in Game 1 and salvaged morale.
It was loud and emotional, a puppet putting on a show, a King protecting his righteous court. It was LeBron James reestablishing buzz among a city that hasn’t had much exhilaration since 1964, a battered sporting town cursed and humiliated of all the failures in recent years.
As native Drew Carey says, Cleveland ROOOOOOOOOOOCKS! Two days ago, belief turned to the Orlando Magic after stunning upset raised eyebrows, shocked faces and left enthusiastic fans worried and somber. But in one game, a magical shot could cure spirit and install amazing things to regenerate cheers. If the city hasn’t recovered from its panic attacks, now emotions should be to some extent unflappable as the Cavs were saved, knowing how pivotal a win was at home before departing to Orlando.
But on this particular night, much talk wasn’t about catching the next flight out of town or preparing for the Magic on their home floor. On this memorable night it was a historic one, with a wondrous buzzer-beater resurfacing memorable moments that have transpired in Cleveland and cured throbbing heartbreaks and aching headaches. Remember, Michael Jordan brought misery into the agonizing and ailing sports town on his miracle shot.
But the 20,000 fans in attendance witnessed a nail-bitter similar to Game 1, and can now embrace and remember a shot bigger than Jordan’s heartbreaker. As time expired, King James' sudden death shot that he buried in the final seconds on a nerve-racking Friday night was magical, amazing and astounding, feverishly igniting a towel-swinging, electrified-screaming, eye-opening, jaw-dropping, rocking frenzy in honor of his fallen prayer to preserve a 96-95 thrilling win that rescued the Cavs from sustaining a huge 2-0 deficit.
The series is tied 1-1, now becoming interesting. It's easy to postulate that the Magic will respond in Game 3, after momentum turned into the Cavs favor. So, we witnessed James closely intimate Jordan’s ’89 heartbreaker, and it was a shot that benefited the Cavs pursuit for a NBA championship.
It's the local talent bringing gratifying excitement, courtesy of James’ anxiousness and desirous mindset to win his first title in a town that has suffered through dishearten sporting calamities, such as The Shot, The Drive, The Fumble and The Choke. All of which are sporting failures, but now easily forgotten after LeBron ensures he’s the King. He has made fans believe by making the biggest shot to revoke any devastating memories of major sporting championship failures, a long-lasting drought in which misery has multiplied over the years.
With a 25-foot game-winning three pointer, it saved Cleveland and dismissed any disbelief. It saved a promising season and may change James mind about leaving for New York in 2010, when he becomes the biggest and most attractive free-agent. For now, his flawless performance is admired in front of thousands who have long-suffered from misadventures, but now might witness a banner and championship parade. If it wasn’t for that shot, the Cavs would be in a heap of trouble with a shocking 2-0 deficit as the Magic would have gained steps closer of renaming NBA’s slogan to Where Magical Things Happen.
Before all the screaming, towel-swinging and confetti dropping, teammates heckled James in a celebration and Mo Williams fell to his knees emotionally stunned of what had transpired, shortly after it seemed another devastating loss was close. When Orlando’s outside shooter Hedo Turkoglu stepped back and nailed a fallen 12-foot jumper that gave the Magic a 95-93 lead, it completely silenced the capacity crowd. Then, came “The Chosen One” with one second remaining, down by two points with guts and courage to heave the prayer, which may have decided the Cavs wonderful season.
Now, it deserves a positive sporting name “The Chosen One.”
With a dramatic finish, the drought was forgotten to embrace an amazing moment.
