Believe the Hype

In Game 1 of the Conference Finals, James was scrutinized by most in the media for passing up a 6-foot shot near the end of the game, instead passing to Donyell Marshall, who missed an open three-point shot.

After losing Game 2 where he did take the final shot, the series moved back to Cleveland with the Cavs down 0-2. In Game 3 with the Cavs up 84-82, James hit a 14 foot jumper to seal the game. He also poured in 32 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. In Game 4, in the waning seconds James hit two free throws to seal the game again. James had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

And then it happened.....

In Game 5, James scored 48 points, had 9 boards and had 7 assists; including 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, all coming after the six minute mark in the fourth quarter, and the team's last 25 points (franchise record) in Cleveland's double-overtime Game 5 victory.

James was the only player to score for the Cavaliers in the two overtimes played. ESPN analyst Hubie Brown said of LeBron's performance after the game, "..absolutely incredible" and that the game will be run on ESPN Classic for years and years. NBA analyst Marv Albert referred to James's performance as "one of the greatest performances in NBA history."

James had a rough shooting night due to Detroit's aggressive defense double and triple-teaming him in Game 6 but his teammates did enough for the Cavaliers to lead Cleveland to a 96-80 win and their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history.

Credit also must go to the rookie Daniel Gibson....
Gibson got his first big playoff opportunity in Game 3 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. He came up big for the Cavaliers scoring 9 points, including two 3-pointers. He also grabbed 2 rebounds, blocked 1 shot, and had an important steal from Tayshaun Prince late in the fourth quarter. He followed this with an even greater performance in Game 4, scoring a career high 21 points, which came from only 7 field goal attempts. He was also 100% from the line, making 12 of 12 free throws.

Gibson was the star of Game 6 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons, knocking down all five three-point attempts, floaters and jumpers from all over the court. Gibson's 31 points (19 in the 4th quarter), 6 rebounds and 2 assists were reminiscent of LeBron's dominating performance in Game 5 of the series.

The Cleveland Cavaliers became only the third team to win an NBA series after being down 2-0 after a 98-82 victory in Game 6, as Gibson and the Cavs moved on to the NBA Finals.