January 2, 2010

NBA- LeBron James Celebrated his Birthday with a Victory over Atlanta

By Audrey Nolan

On Wednesday, with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 106-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Lebron James celebrated his 25th birthday. The celebrations began after James had a great performance with 48 points scored, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots, winning on his birthday for the first time.

The victory came near the end of the game, when Andy Varejao scored a three pointer with 17.2 seconds left on the clock and with the 24 seconds left to score almost gone. The shot was Varejao’s first three-pointer in his career, coming as a present to his friend and teammate, James, since it came as the score was tied at 101.

Varejao’s shot was initially ruled as a two-pointer, but after reviewing the video referees decided that Varejao’s feet were behind the three point line and made the official ruling. The decision was not a good one for Atlanta, since the team had dominated most of the game.

Cleveland had to overcome a 17 point deficit at the beginning of the third quarter; Atlanta had been overwhelming the home team. With James’ help, the team turned the game around, reversing the score and reaching 94-93. James’ effort was deemed remarkable by both his teammates and also his coach.

“It’s amazing,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said of James work. “You know how they say a young person has an old soul? Well, he’s got an old game. It’s athletic, powerful and energetic. The whole nine yards. It feels like he’s been doing it forever.”

James and the team had to race to reverse the deficit; the fans got into the game too, cheering for the home team, which was desperate to demonstrate its skills and abilities. The Cavs were also able to take advantage of Atlanta’s inability to execute at the end of the game.

Atlanta seemed furious with the loss, stating that there was a problem with the clock. The players and coach are now planning to protest to the league, claiming that the clock was malfunctioning and affecting their game. According to the Hawks, they should have won the game.

“This is a game we should’ve won,” Joe Johnson said. “We had some unfortunate events that happened on the court and it happens. Unfortunately, we have to deal with it.”

Coach Mike Woodson had a discussion with the clock operator after the game, claiming that the 24-second shot clock was not reset following a miss by the Cavaliers with 1:56 left, when the Hawks were leading 98-99. According to Woodson this cost them the game since the Cavaliers were able to make a turnover and score.

The Cavs, unsurprisingly, took the victory well. After the game they all headed to LeBron’s birthday party, which was attended by music stars like Jay-Z and Akon.

Despite heading to the NBA at a very young age (18), LeBron is described by most of his friends and teammates as a very mature person for his age now 25. He has achieved a great deal in a very short period of time, and has demonstrated that he deserved the MVP title of the year.

This was the first time in five years that he has played on his birthday and won, giving the team the 11th victory of the season.

 

About the Author

Audrey Nolan is a top senior copy writer on NBA games and sports action for the online sports betting site: http://www.instantactionsports.com

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