LeBron James is human after all. We learned that on Sunday night in Game 3 of Eastern Conference finals matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. With Cleveland winning the first two games on the road in a blowout fashion and Boston playing without Isaiah Thomas in Game 3, nobody expected the outcome we saw later that night.
One other thing that got us all thinking about a possible sweep in this series for the Cavs was the way LeBron James is playing this season, especially in the playoffs. He's been on a tear this postseason averaging 32.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 55% from the field.
In Game 1 against Boston, James scored 38 points on 14-for-24 shooting and in Game 2 he finished with 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting. Pretty impressive for most players, but for James it was just another "day in the office". Having said all of that, nobody expected him to perform in Game 3 the way he did.
Cavaliers lose, James disappears
The four-time league MVP wasn't on the level we've used to seeing him in the postseason. He finished Sunday's game with just 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting. He was 0-for-4 from the three-point line and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line.
James added six rebounds and six assists but also had six big turnovers. As his Cavaliers blew a 21-point lead, LeBron was held scoreless in the final 16 and a half minutes of the game and produced one of the worst playoff games of his career.
He didn't score a single point in the fourth quarter of the game that came down to the wire with Avery Bradley hitting the game-winner eventually. His 11 points were his
His 11 points were his fewest in 107 career home playoff games and it was the second time in his playoff career that he was held scoreless in the fourth quarter in which he played the entire 12 minutes of the period.
The first time this happened was in 2011 NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks when LeBron James didn't score in the fourth quarter and his Miami Heat lost that game.
LeBron frustrated after the game
James was obviously frustrated after his awful performance on Sunday night and it showed after the game when he had an encounter with a heckling fan in the hallway outside the news conference room.
LeBron addressed his struggles in a postgame interview, "I had a tough game, period. Not just in the second half, I didn't have it. That's all I've got to say about my performance."
11 points were the fewest points James had scored in a game since May 28, 2014, when he scored seven points against the Indiana Pacers. Cavs' head coach Tyronn Lue spoke to the media after the game, "I mean, he's human, so he's going to have a night like this. He didn't shoot the ball well, and we still had a 20-point lead."
Game 4 of this series is on Tuesday night in Cleveland and we expect James and the Cavaliers to bounce back as they look to advance to the NBA finals.
