SCOREBOARD
Saturday, June
Detroit at Cleveland, (8:30 p.m. EDT). The Cavaliers can advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history.
STAR
Thursday
-LeBron James, Cavaliers, scored a career playoff-high 48 points to lead Cleveland to a 109-107, Game 5 win over Detroit in two overtimes.
KING JAMES
LeBron James scored 29 of his team’s final 30 points in the Cavaliers’ 109-107, double-overtime victory over Detroit on Thursday night. James, who finished with 48 points, made several big shots late in regulation and both overtime periods before a go-ahead layup with 2.2 seconds to play and Detroit’s Chauncey Billups missed a shot in the lane on the ensuing possession.
DO-OVER?
ere before. The Pistons won the first two games of the conference semifinals last year, lost three straight and then won Game 6 on the road and at home in Game 7.
NIFTY TRICK
The Orlando Magic confirmed Thursday that it would hire Florida’s Billy Donovan as coach. Donovan, coming off back-to-back titles with the Gators, agreed to a five-year deal paying $5.5 million annually, an official in the NBA told The Associated Press. Donovan will replace Brian Hill, who was fired after consecutive losing seasons. Hill’s ouster followed the Magic’s first playoff appearance in four years, which ended in the first round against Detroit.
HIRED
Jim O’Brien was hired Thursday as coach of the Indiana Pacers, who turned to an NBA veteran in hopes of reviving a team that missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade and has been beset by turmoil. The announcement ends a five-week search that began with the firing of Rick Carlisle after four seasons. … Marc Iavaroni was hired as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday after a season that left the team with the worst record in the NBA. Iavaroni, a 17-year NBA veteran as player or assistant coach, is regarded as one of the league’s top assistants. He spent the past five seasons with the Phoenix Suns.
REMEMBER THEM?
With his 48 points, LeBron James outscored his team’s second-leading scorer by 32 points in Cleveland’s 109-107 win over Detroit in two overtimes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas fouled out with 16 points and rookie Daniel Gibson, who also fouled out, was the Cavs’ only other double-digit scorer, with 11.
SPEAKING
“Everybody keeps asking for more, and he keeps giving more. I feel bad that my words don’t do justice what he did.” – Cleveland coach Mike Brown, after LeBron James scored 29 of the Cavs’ final 30 points and 48 overall in a 109-107, double-overtime win over Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night.