LeBron sinks buzzer-beater as Cavs push Raptors to brink of elimination

CLEVELAND, United States (UPDATED) – The top seeds came close, but still couldn’t topple LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

James banked in an off balance floater at the buzzer, lifting the Cleveland to a 105-103 win over the Toronto Raptors and giving the Cavaliers a stranglehold 3-0 playoff series lead on Saturday, May 5.

James took an inbound pass and drove the length of the court, cut to the left and sank the running one-handed dagger off the backboard to stun the Raptors’ bench. The 10-footer came just seconds after Toronto had tied it 103-103 on OG Anunoby’s 3 pointer with 8 seconds on the clock.

“I live for those moments, to be able to go out and come through for my team,” James said. “I had to get open. There were no more timeouts. I was able to hit a floater off the glass.”

James finished with 38 points, Kevin Love added 21 and 16 rebounds and Kyle Korver 18 for the Cavs, who can sweep the Raptors for the second consecutive year.

Kyle Lowry scored 27 for Toronto, who played most of the 4th with DeMar DeRozan on the bench.

After winning two games in Toronto, the Cleveland returned home and did the same. James has Toronto’s number as he is 11-2 against Toronto in the past three playoffs.

“We needed every bucket, every rebound, every possession,” he said. “That’s a gutsy win. We had to be patient and not feed off the physicality and continue to execute.” – Rappler.com