Cavs coach Mike Brown made the adjustment of putting forward LeBron James in the middle of the floor Thursday night to prevent the Magic from doubling him.
"We didn't do anything tricky," Brown said. "He had a heck of a game with that triple-double. That's what great players do. They put their team on their back. We have a great player in LeBron who makes great plays." By putting him at the top of the key, the Cavs forced the Magic to cover him one-on-one. If they doubled him, he'd just pass to an open shooter on the wing.
"It's really tough," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They are getting him the ball in the middle of the floor."
James said they were trying to figure out a way to exploit the Magic's defense. Thirty-seven points later and five games into the series, they finally found it.
CAVS 112, MAGIC 102: Cavaliers coach Mike Brown's doctrine has been "one play, one game at a time."
But that's exactly how the Cavs had to approach their daunting task in the Eastern Conference final.
They outlasted the Orlando Magic in Game 5 on Thursday and trail in the best-of-seven series, 3-2.
The Magic were unable to combat a dominant performance by Cavs forward LeBron James, who either scored or assisted on his team's last 32 points before a sold-out crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.
James finished with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. It was his fourth career postseason triple-double and his first of the 2009 postseason.
"The game is basically all LeBron, all the time," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
James made 15 of 19 from the foul line.
The Magic still need just one win to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995. But many think the pressure is now on the Magic, who will be at home for Game 6 on Saturday.
They probably have to get it done on Saturday because not many think the Magic will prevail in Game 7 in Cleveland.
The Magic knew the close-out game wasn't going to be easy. They thought it would be their toughest game of the back-and-forth series, and they were right.
