WASHINGTON _ LeBron James brought the Cavaliers back. Kyrie Irving finished things off.
James' remarkable 3-pointer in the last second of regulation and Irving's 3-pointer from the wing _ essentially the same shot from the same place on the floor that he made in Game 7 of last year's Finals _ carried the Cavs to a thrilling and exhausting 140-135 overtime victory Monday over the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center.
Kevin Love scored 39 points, his second-highest total of the season, and James fouled out during the first minute of overtime with 32 points, a career-high 17 assists and seven rebounds. Irving scored 23 points, including 11 in overtime with James on the bench. The Cavs rallied from a five-point deficit in overtime to win.
The win snapped the Wizards' 17-game home winning streak after they made it clear prior to the game how important this night was. They had won their last seven games overall, too. Now the Cavs have won five of their last six.
James drove the length of the court in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, but blew a layup with 3.4 seconds remaining that would've given the Cavs the lead.
After John Wall made a pair of free throws to extend the Wizards' lead to 120-117 and seemingly clinch the victory, Love heaved a full-court pass that James caught in the right corner. He made an off-balance, turnaround 3-pointer over Bradley Beal as he was falling out of bounds with three-tenths remaining to force overtime.
It was a remarkable shot by a remarkable player who just recounted Monday morning how he's able to stay calm under duress. It was certainly true Monday.
"Just experience. Best teacher in life is experience, I've experienced it," James said before the game. "I've won, I've lost, but at the end of the day, I put myself in position where when the stakes are high, I can just calm my mind and know what needs to be done."
James scored 13 points in a wild fourth quarter that included seven ties and seven lead changes. There were six lead changes in the last 4:37 alone.
Tristan Thompson scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Korver scored 13 points off the bench. The Cavs were forced to play most of the second half and all of the overtime session without Iman Shumpert, who departed with a sprained left ankle and did not return.
Beal scored 41 points, one shy of his career high, but missed a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left that could've forced a second overtime. The Wizards entered the night fourth in the East and didn't hide the fact how important it was for them to beat the defending champs at home.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said at this point, that just comes with the territory.
"We just got to recognize that we've got to respect every player on the floor," Lue said. "We just got to respect guys for 48 minutes and play hard and compete. As of late, we've been doing that."
