Volume 5: Unrivaled

"We will not publicly punish referees; that would be inappropriate. But their game assignments will be affected by the quality of their officiating. Whether they work playoff games or not, every round will be influenced by the accuracy of their calls. There is a monitoring system in place to oversee refereeing. This is not a new issue." In the end, the Celtics overcame unfavorable calls and defeated the Cavaliers 114:101, taking a 3:1 series lead and reaching match point. That was right—in James's heart, he had always regarded himself as the best player in the league, even the greatest player in history. After returning home, the Cavaliers immediately pulled one back. James erupted in G3, playing all 48 minutes without a second of rest and posting a monstrous triple-double of 42 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers beat the Celtics 119:111 to cut the series to 1:2. Kerr no longer insisted on motion offense either, instead letting the Big Three take the ball and fire away, refusing to believe they could not shoot the Cavaliers to death. His goal was to surpass Jordan and become the GOAT; before 2013, he had never changed that goal. To keep himself from breaking down mentally, James could only keep telling himself that he lost because the Celtics' roster was too strong, and that he could not win a championship because the Warriors' roster was too strong. This was no longer merely a thought of James's—it had become a belief that supported him through everything. But for now, it was still only a Celtics-Cavaliers matchup. Neutral fans had merely followed the crowd in condemning the league, and when G4 arrived, their attention naturally returned to the game. Two days later, the Celtics returned home and crushed the Cavaliers 121:103, winning the