LeBron James shared his sickness with the world late Friday night, posting a Twitter picture of himself with glassy eyes, a hood over his head as he propped it against a pillow. On Saturday, he skipped the morning shootaround, and didn’t eat or drink anything until taking a few sips of an energy drink in the afternoon.
“He said there was no hesitation, he would never leave his guys out there,” Erik Spoelstra said. “But there was a little bit of doubt with us.”
He hardly looked healed as he took the U.S. Airways Center floor Saturday, wincing and sniffling, letting Michael Beasley blow by him and going scoreless for his first 11 minutes, 11 minutes that were interrupted when he spent a few minutes in the locker room getting fluids.
If only America’s economy would recover so quickly.
James’ energy and activity trended upward as Saturday night progressed, and he — with ample assistance from Suns-killer Chris Bosh — helped Miami close out a nine-night road trip with a 97-88 victory. That gave Miami a 4-2 record for the entire excursion, including a 3-0 mark with Dwyane Wade.
“We’ll take it and hopefully get home soon,” Spoelstra said.
Getting this win took plenty from Bosh, who came in averaging 23.1 points against Phoenix, his second-highest average against any opponent during his career, and finished with 24, including two clutch free throws. It took accurate shooting from Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers (back from a mild triceps injury) and Mike Miller, a trio that combined to connect on 13 of 23 attempts — with Miller again starting for Wade, who again sat due to a sprained left foot. It took some good fortune late, as Beasley’s jumper swirled out and Sebastian Telfair flubbed a layup.
And it took James living up to his immodest, if wholly accurate, self-assessment.
“Me at 50 percent or 60 percent is better than me not playing at all,” he said.
Spoelstra took him out with four minutes left in the first quarter.
“What’s the last time I’ve ever done that?” Spoelstra asked. “That’s probably the first time.”
James got some fluids, and got back to the bench.
“So, from there, we were just going to gauge it, and communicate,” Spoelstra said. “Every timeout, I asked him. Once he got his second wind…. he’s unlike most athletes, even when he’s sick.”
James played 34 of the final 37 minutes and, in the three minutes he missed, Phoenix cut a 73-60 deficit to 75-71. James returned to start the fourth, and he couldn’t coast, certainly not after Markieff Morris tied the game at 79. Ray Allen’s 8-foot bank shot gave Miami the lead and, after a Sebastian Telfair turnover, James found himself incredibly alone under the basket, waiting for Chalmers and then Bosh to pass him the ball.
“C.B. finally found me,” James said. “You know, just one of those fast breaks, you know, Rio looked me off.”
Even when he’s sick?
“Even when I’m sick,” James said, smiling.
That layup, which left James shaking his head while wearing a similar smile, made it 83-79. James darted a pass to Chalmers, who nailed a 3-pointer. Beasley’s turnover, and Chalmers’ hitahead feed, led to James’ spectacular reverse slam in transition. Still, that 9-point lead quickly shrank and, at 92-88, James needed one more push. James and Bosh ran a high pick-and-roll.
“I was able to get a little bit of an angle,” James said.
He spun off the body of 7-footer Marcin Gortat, and finished at rim, to finish the trip with a flourish, which was the next best thing to finishing off the flu.
