The dagger had been sunk. Orlando too the 95-93 lead. The Darlings would head back to Disneyworld up 2-0. After two of the most intense playoff battles they'd ever faced, Orlando saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
But one second remained.
The light seemed to be approaching at warp speed. They could taste it, and they began to savor the sweet decadence of beating the best team in the league twice on its home court.
But that was no light. It was a 6'8", 270lb freight train running straight to the gut of every Magic fan on the planet.
You have to understand; things like this don't happen for Cleveland. They happen to Cleveland. But what we Witnessed last night will go down as one of the greatest plays in the history of sports. And it's ours to savor forever.
Folks, if you haven't already, take a second to let this sink in. We blew a 23 point lead last night. We had no business winning after the way our defense broke down and our number two scorer failed in nearly every aspect of his offensive game, despite scoring 19.
We should not have won last night, but we did. Something has happened.
This was the most important, dramatic win for any Cleveland sports team in over 45 years. No, it doesn't win us a championship. Yes, there's still a long, very tough road ahead. But something has happened. We no longer have to cringe when we see replays of Jordan hitting "Th Shot." Somewhere, someone has lifted whatever "curse" or ghost there was haunting this city and its sports franchises.
No one should be carrying around the woebegone Cleveland sports fan mentality anymore. No one can ever, ever again say that LeBron James is not clutch. This one shot changed all of that.
Again, none of this is to say we should get ahead of ourselves. Neither of these first two games should have been this close, and now we have to go to their house. Mo needs to step up big-time. Z needs to get into his rhythm. Sasha needs to get more minutes. It is still going to be a hard series, the biggest test either team has faced all year. But if you believe in momentum at all, then you know we've got it on our side.
Orlando, you just plucked yourself a nice, fat no leaf clover. I'd stay away from the train tracks in the future, if I were you.
Our Horsemen ride on...
Metallica S&M live-No Leaf Clover (via LPwhatIvedone16m2m)