MIAMI — LeBron James broached the topic without being asked directly.
But it had been on the minds of anyone watching the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers play in the NBA's Eastern Conference finals.
James' one-man performance-art show recalled memories of his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers, when James often had to do so much in order to win playoff games because he was not surrounded with enough talent.
"I kind of just went back to my Cleveland days at that point and just said, 'Hey, let's try to make more plays and be more of a scoring threat as well,' " James said after scorching the Pacers for 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block in Miami's 90-79 Game 5 victory Thursday.
With forward Chris Bosh and guard Dwyane Wade struggling offensively for two main reasons — Indiana's defense and injuries — James is proving he can carry Miami with limited help from the other two-thirds of the Big 3.
He delivered a sublime third-quarter effort — accounting for 25 of Miami's 30 points in the quarter with 16 points and four assists. He snatched four rebounds, too.
Now, the Heat lead the Pacers 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, and Game 6 is Saturday in Indianapolis (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT). As good as Indiana has been, it faces a discouraging proposition: win consecutive games against a team that hasn't lost two in a row since January.
When James wanted the ball, he got it.
When Miami needed points, he got them.
"Just try to figure out a way that I can, I don't know, just see if the guys would just follow me, and just lead them the best way I could," James said. "I was just in attack mode in the third quarter, look for my shot. And luckily I was able to make some.
"I just saw how we were playing in the first half. ... We were in wait mode in the first half instead of going and getting it — just waiting for things to happen. I took it upon myself to stop waiting and just go. Just try to figure out a way to go and get it. I don't know. I just stepped outside the box a little bit."
Miami just might need more of that out-of-box play from James. Now, a tad surprisingly, there is some truth to the Cleveland comparison. During the regular season, James led the Heat in scoring at 26.8 points a game, but Wade wasn't far behind (21.2), and Bosh was his usual Miami self (16.6).
But in the conference finals, James is scoring almost twice as much per game as Wade (28.4 vs. 15.4) and more than double Bosh (12.6).
"The last two years, when they've gotten to the NBA Finals, there was a three-man consistency with Bosh, James and Wade. But that isn't the case anymore," TNT analyst Kenny Smith said. "Those guys (Bosh and Wade) don't take the challenge that they used to take. It might be because of injury or it might be because of matchups. Whatever it is, (James) is doing what he did in Cleveland, which is being a one-man wrecking crew on the offensive end."
In the 2010 playoffs, James scored 29.7% of Cleveland's points in the playoffs, and he is at 24.7% for the playoffs and 26.7% in the conference finals this season.
But this is not completely the Cavaliers' James. Truth is, he has more options around him this season, mainly because Bosh and Wade still are presences on the court, drawing attention from Indiana's defense. His supporting cast, especially with Mario Chalmers (12 points, six assists) and Udonis Haslem (16 points) playing the way they have in this series, is much better in Miami.
"We would love to be scoring," Wade told USA TODAY Sports late Thursday. "That's what we've done all year. We put the ball in the basket. When we're not, it's a tougher game for us. We've had a few of those games in the playoffs. When that's not happening, we need timely buckets, and we were able to have that tonight."
That's another truth. Miami didn't get a lot from Wade and Bosh in Game 5 but got enough. Wade, bothered by a bruised right knee, finished with 10 points, with four coming in the fourth quarter. Bosh, dealing with a bum right ankle, had five of his seven points in the second quarter.
Furthermore, the Heat are content to win any way possible, as they have done in previous series, including last season. It doesn't always have to be with the Big 3 leading the way every game. It is part of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's "Whatever it takes" philosophy.
When two of Big 3 aren't scoring, Miami has learned to win with and trust in other players. There is no panic in those situations.
"You develop that over the course of a year," Wade said. "Obviously, most nights the ball could be in the three our hands most of the time. The guys on our team just play an unbelievable role when they have their opportunities. Throughout the year, they've stepped up big time.
"They stay confident, and it's not an easy thing to do. You can't be a championship-caliber team without the guys like that. UD (Haslem) stepped up big time. We will need somebody else to do it in Game 6."
Spoelstra sensed early in the series the Heat might need this kind of performance from James to beat the Pacers, and it's playing out that way. If James isn't as dominant, the Heat struggle.
"You're at the point where you understand that if you don't play the game you need to that you can lose the ballgame and be in trouble," Wade said. "Nothing is guaranteed to you, but your effort and energy can always be picked up."
And, of course, it helps to have James.
"He has a lot of opportunities, and he's taking advantage of them," Wade said. "He's a mismatch problem no matter who you put on him especially when he's shooting the ball the way he is. We're going to need him to be the MVP like he has been."
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