LeBron James missed the end of Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder on Tuesday because of leg cramps he suffered toward the end of the fourth quarter. James went down on a drive to the basket with 5:15 left after his legs clearly gave out. He returned 1:05 later and hit a big three to break a 94-all tie, but then he exited the game in the final minute after his legs gave him problems once again.
According to Brian Windhorst, LeBron was bothered by cramps at halftime, played through them in the third quarter, and could no longer bear it in the fourth.
Had the Heat lost the game, there’s no doubt James’ critics would have said he faked the injury so that he wouldn’t have to be on the floor during crunch-time. I’m sure there would have been jabs about Michael Jordan never getting cramps, either.
H/T Eye on Basketball for the video
