- [Narrator] It's May 5th, 2006.
We're in Washington, D.C. for game six
of a first round NBA playoff series
between the Wizards and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland leads the series three to two,
but they trail this game by one point
with only seconds remaining.
Cleveland's LeBron James has the ball.
If James can get the Cavs a bucket,
he could win his first ever playoff series.
If the Wizards get a stop, we go to a decisive game seven.
Before we witness this moment,
we should remember the events preceding it,
some extremely clutch, some not so much.
And as the Washington defense converges on LeBron,
we should survey the other players on the floor.
We should rewind.
(gentle ambient intro music)
The man with the ball is the star of the show.
LeBron James has commanded the league's attention
since the Cavaliers drafted him out of high school
three years ago.
This third season has included
an important development in that story:
winning.
Cleveland brought LeBron a couple new teammates,
albeit not the starriest free agent names.
In return, LeBron brought Cleveland his best season yet:
over 30 points per game,
and increased efficiency both shooting and passing the ball.
LeBron isn't just a star anymore.
He's an MVP candidate now.
That level of production, plus a bit more help,
gave the Cavs their first 50-win season in over a decade,
and gave us the first playoff basketball of LeBron's career.
Yet another level reached,
an even bigger stage, an even brighter spotlight,
and LeBron has been sensational.
It's not just that he's upped his game,
dictated the offense,
and shot the absolute f*** out of the ball.
It's that he's come through in the big moments.
Game three of this series was
LeBron's first ever road playoff game.
Down one in the final seconds,
James went iso, faked Antonio Daniels outta the picture,
then muscled straight through big guy Michael Ruffin
for the game-winning bucket.
That is a remarkable feat of strength.
And in game five,
LeBron matched it with this feat of nimbleness,
tiptoeing along the baseline
for another critical last second score
to put Cleveland up three-two in the series.
NBA stars sometimes go their whole careers
without a signature playoff moment.
21 year old LeBron created two for the ages
in, like, a week.
And here we are again, down one with just seconds left.
LeBron's got the ball and a chance to
produce another career highlight to end the series.
And if he does it again, he'll be fulfilling a promise
and snatching back the narrative
from this guy, Gilbert Arenas.
When LeBron entered the league in 2003,
Arenas still represented something of a novelty.
Once a second-round pick of the Golden State Warriors,
Arenas parlayed the 2003 Most Improved Player award
into a big free agent deal with Washington.
Following three seasons here in Washington,
Arenas is no longer a novelty.
Arenas punctuated a big 2005
with clutch shooting in last season's playoffs,
and continued with genuinely elite performance this year.
Gilbert's 29.3 points per game in '05-'06
put him fourth in the NBA.
It goes Kobe, Iverson, LeBron,
and then recent second-round pick Gilbert Arenas.
Gilbert was right up there in minutes and assists, too.
The man is an NBA star
as capable of commanding a game as anyone in this league.
And insofar as anyone can steal the show that is
LeBron James's first playoff series,
Gilbert has done it.
34 points per game on a lethal 44% clip from downtown
culminated in tonight's masterpiece.
Arenas has played every minute,
leads all scorers with 36 points,
and sent this game to overtime in jaw-dropping fashion.
Washington had possession down three
with five seconds to go in regulation.
Gilbert received the inbound in no man's land,
heels touching the Verizon center logo.
He had more than enough time to dribble, to pass,
to do something to create a more favorable look.
Instead, Gilbert just-
- [Announcer] Arenas puts up the three!
(announcer shouting)
(crowd cheering)
Gilbert Arenas ties the game!
- [Narrator] They talk about
players with ice in their veins,
they talk about shooting without a conscience.
Spotting up from 28 feet
with time on the clock and a whole series on the line
is all of that.
That gut-buster gave us overtime,
wherein the Wizards hung tough to restore their lead
in the final minute.
Headed the other way, Cleveland's Eric Snow
threw six-four Flip Murray a seven-four pass.
The Cavs had no choice but to foul
and they picked the wrong guy.
The guy with ice in his brains.
the guy who hit 82% of his free throws this season,
albeit with a couple misses already tonight.
Arenas stepped to the foul line with a chance to
put the Wizards up three with 15 seconds left,
that much closer to cementing his deep bomb in regulation
as a moment in history,
the signature play of this series to date.
Well.
(crowd cheering)
- [Announcer] Arenas misses the free throw.
- [Narrator] Okay, short-armed it, these things happen.
Not a disaster.
But then between free throws,
the camera caught something unusual.
This hand on Gilbert's shoulder belonged to LeBron James.
LeBron issued a threat.
To paraphrase, "If you miss both of these,
you know who's gonna make one."
Well.
(sneakers squeaking)
- [Announcer] Arenas misses both (indistinct)
- [Narrator] Shit.
Suddenly that deep downtown dagger felt like old news.
Instead of shooting for overtime,
the Cavs have a surprise chance
to end the series with one bucket.
And here right now is the king himself surveying his domain
ready to back up his ominous words to Arenas.
But as the clock ticks below 10 seconds,
you can see the strategy
from Washington coach Eddie Jordan.
Anyone but that guy.
Two Wizards are trapping LeBron at almost half-court.
They'd rather someone else shoot unguarded
than let LeBron kill him with a third game-winning shot.
LeBron finds Larry Hughes, but a third defender recovers,
so the ball keeps moving to-
Wait, who the hell is this guy?
If you're surprised to see Damon Jones,
I can't entirely blame you.
Jones has not seen the court in game six
until right now, zero minutes.
So, uh, what?
Maybe you don't know Damon Jones,
but I bet you recognize him.
Perhaps from his time with the
(narrator clearing throat)
Magic or Nets or Celtics or Warriors or Mavericks
or Grizzlies or Rockets or Pistons or Kings
or Bucks or Heat.
Yes.
After going undrafted in 1997 and playing in zany leagues
for zany teams like the Black Hills Posse,
Jones got signed and dismissed by 11 NBA teams in six years.
He's made progress, though, from training camp guy
to regular bench warmer to genuine role player.
In 2004, he finally played a full 82-game season
and held a regular rotation spot in Milwaukee,
but the Bucks let him walk away in free agency.
In '05, Jones had kind of a breakout year with Miami.
He got tight with Dwayne Wade and Shaq,
like, really tight with Shaq.
Fans came to appreciate the little guy's personality.
On the floor, Jones locked up a significant role
as Stan van Gundy's fifth starter,
the kickout guy on a team with rim-attacking starts.
A year ago, Damon had his first big playoff moments
against the Nets and these very same Wizards.
Damon Jones finally made it.
That said, unless you paid close attention to the Heat,
you might still remember him best because of this moment
from February of last season.
Caught in a grim two-on-one versus the Cavs,
Jones made the half-hearted regrettable decision
to jump with LeBron, and got folded in half.
Well, Damon doesn't have to worry about that anymore.
The Heat let him walk, and the Cavs signed him
to help spread the floor around LeBron.
In training camp, Jones declared himself
the best shooter in the world, period.
And LeBron has basically agreed in public.
Jones' three point percentage has dropped quite a bit
since his fifth best mark last season,
but whatever, he's still quite effective from downtown.
Playing adjacent to stars, securing a role and reputation,
and offering some great quotes
is a recipe for success.
This season Jones became the first NBA player ever
to sign with a Chinese sneaker company, Lee Ning,
in what might very well be a pioneering move for a league
aggressively expanding its relationship with China.
Unfortunately, that shoe deal announcement
corresponded with Jones getting his first opportunity
to start in Cleveland and delivering a seven game stretch
in which he shot a hideous eight of 37 from downtown
and got booed by home crowds.
Attention and opportunity add pressure,
and that's not always great.
Jones went back to the bench.
And after playing heavy minutes
in Miami's '05 post-season run,
Jones has scarcely participated in
Cleveland Coach Mike Brown's '06 post-season rotation.
In six games, Jones has played just 24 minutes.
Tonight, he spent 52 consecutive minutes glued to his seat.
But before this play,
this possibly decisive moment of the series,
this opportunity to advance in the playoffs
for the first time in over a decade,
Coach Brown called Damon's number.
Here he is.
This once seemed to be the Gilbert Arenas game,
but Gilbert relinquished that title, or maybe subverted it
with an uncharacteristically unclutch moment,
and the Wizards are going all out
to ensure this won't be another LeBron James game.
They refuse to let him have the final shot.
Thus, a little journeyman
who's hardly mattered in this series
has a chance to end it
on one of the most impactful 14-second stints ever.
With a bucket and maybe a stop,
game six could be the Damon Jones game.
Let's see what happens.
Welcome to a moment in history.
(announcers speaking indistinctly)
(crowd bustling)
(sneaker squeaking)
- [Announcer] Damon Jones puts it in!
With 4.8 remaining.
Wizards have to push.
Arenas driving inside, Butler at the buzzer.
(buzzer blaring)
No good!
(referee whistling)
And the Cleveland Cavaliers advance to the second round.
Damon Jones, who hadn't played a second all game
inserted and knocks down the winning shot.
An incredible finish.
(TV clicking)