The Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers are not the only ones that are tied up. With his game-winning buzzer-beater in Chicago in Game 4, LeBron James tied Michael Jordan with three career playoff game-winning shots. With that, the Cavaliers were able to avoid going down 3-1 in the series. They now head back to Cleveland tied up at 2-2.
It is a new era for these Central Division rivals. James and Derrick Rose have taken to the spotlight for their respective teams and each has delivered so far. The bank was open this past weekend as Rose started the buzzer-beating theme on Friday knocking down a game-winning three pointer in the closing seconds of Game 3. James followed in Game 4 with a baseline jumper after "scratching" his coach's original play call to have him inbound the ball with less than two seconds remaining in a tie game.
The King certainly made up for his prior mistakes in the game, namely, an offensive foul with less than 20 seconds left and the Cavs up by two. James also had eight turnovers in the game, yet finished strong with a team-high 25 points and 14 rebounds. His final shot has been the talk of the weekend and is arguably his most impressive playoff buzzer-beater yet. With the game tied at 84-84, James' jumper avoided overtime and allowed the Cavs to tie the series.
Derrick Rose finished with a game-high 31 points, which included a game-tying layup moments before James beat the final horn. The absence of Pau Gasol played a critical role in Game 4 as the veteran sat out with a hamstring injury. Taj Gibson was inserted into the starting lineup and finished with six points and eight rebounds. Jimmy Butler, who finished with 19 points, was the only Bull other than Rose to score double-figures.
The injury to Gasol may also impact Game 5 Tuesday night in Cleveland. It was clear down the stretch in Game 4 that Gasol's presence was missed as the Bulls relinquished a second quarter lead after missing badly on six consecutive shots. The Bulls were still able to put themselves in a position to win, but the Cavs pulled it out in thrilling fashion.
In a series that was impacted by injuries from the start, the Cavaliers were given another scare when James went down with a sprained ankle in the third quarter. He battled adversity like only a king could and maintained his composure all the way until the final buzzer. Kyrie Irving also played with a sprained ankle and finished with 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting.
Moving forward, the Cavs will need a healthy Irving in addition to steady contributions from J.R. Smith as well as Iman Shumpert to take weight off of James' shoulders. He has been the MVP of the series, but the Cavs cannot afford to rely on the 30 year-old to carry them to the NBA Finals.