The Miami Heat were in Sacramento on Friday night, and LeBron James was on point with Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade out. He scored 33 points, including a windmill dunk after a Mario Chalmers steal and over-the-head pass to a wide-open ‘Bron at the other end in the first quarter.
James’ aerial exploits occurred during a big opening quarter for the short-handed Heat. They out-scored the hometown Kings 32-19 in the opening session and James had 14 on 5-of-7 shooting. The windmill wouldn’t have happened if ‘Rio hadn’t snuck up behind Rudy Gay as he was dribbling across half-court.
He stripped Gay from behind and immediately threw the ball over his head, knowing James was still on the offensive end, alone, with a clear path to the bucket. LeBron took the opportunity to show the Kings fans just what he can do in the air, if given the opportunity.
Except Miami’s hot start didn’t continue, and they lost the next two quarters before tying the score in the fourth to force OT. DeMarcus Cousins scored 26, Rudy Gay had 27 and Isaiah Thomas had 22 for the game, and the hometown team out-scored the defending 2-time champs 19-14 in the extra session — despite 11 by LeBron — for the victory.
James had 33 points (12/23, 4-of-9 from deep), eight rebounds, eight assists in the loss.
LeBron got the highlight of the night, but the Kings got the win.
What do you think?
Follow Spencer on Twitter at @countcenci.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
