LeBron James hits game-winner at buzzer to give Cleveland Cavaliers 3-0 series lead over Toronto Raptors

Talisman hits a running floater off the glass as time expires to give the Cavs the victory

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Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James celebrates after hitting the game winning shot to beat the Toronto Raptors in game three of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Photo: AFP

Associated Press

Published: 12:49pm, 6 May 2018Updated: 12:49pm, 6 May 2018

The Cleveland Cavaliers have LeBron James, and the Toronto Raptors do not.

Distilled to its essence, that’s the difference in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-final series between the two teams.

No coach in the East knows that better than Toronto’s Dwane Casey, who lost to the Cavs in the 2016 conference finals, the 2017 conference semi-finals, and is down 3-0 this time around after losing 105-103 on Saturday night.

LeBron James hits the game-winning shot as Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby (3) and CJ Miles (0) look on. Photo: AP

James hit a running floater off the glass as time expired to give the Cavs the victory. It was James’ second game-winning shot at the buzzer of these play-offs. His three-pointer against Indiana in game five gave Cleveland a 3-2 series lead.

James had 38 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals, leading the Cavs to their ninth consecutive play-off victory over the Raptors.

“It reminds me of back in the days of having to get over the hurdle of (Michael) Jordan,” Casey said before game three. “At some point, you’ve got to get over that hurdle, you’ve got to knock it down, you’ve got to knock the wall down.