Written by Dave McMenamin at ESPN.com
There is a new postseason scoring king.
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James passed Michael Jordan for first place on the all-time playoffs scoring list with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:40 left in the third quarter of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday.
The shot gave him 29 points for the game and 5,989 points for his postseason career to edge him past Jordan’s mark of 5,987. He ran back down the court with his index finger up in the air, signaling his place in history.
James finished with 35 points in the Cavaliers’ 135-102 win over the Boston Celtics, clinching the third straight conference title for the Cavs and James’ seventh straight trip to the NBA Finals.
“I wear the number because of Mike,” James said of the No. 23 on his uniform. “I think I fell in love with the game because of Mike, just because of what he was able to accomplish. When you’re watching Michael Jordan it’s almost like a god. So I didn’t think I could be Mike.”
Jordan’s record stood for 20 years, as he scored his last playoff points in the Chicago Bulls’ Game 6 win over the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals.
Following the accomplishment, Kyrie Irving could be seen yelling in James’ ear as he sat on the bench with a towel draped over his head. James told ESPN it was Irving urging him to celebrate and enjoy the record, using colorful language of course, after the four-time MVP was initially acting modest around his teammates.
By the time the game was over, James was ready to relish the moment, even slipping into a pair of retro Air Jordan 1 sneakers, appropriately enough, to complete his postgame attire. James claimed the footwear choice was unplanned, but he did take delight in JR Smith’s wearing a pair of Supreme Nike Air More Uptempo sneakers.
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