James Jones gets his break, takes advantage

LOS ANGELES — Three-on-one fastbreak. LeBron James with the ball. Dwyane Wade on the right wing. James Jones on the left. Down two. Less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter.

And the ball goes to?

The one man in the building who wasn't surprised to see it going in his direction.

"I was expecting it," Jones said of the play with 49.9 seconds left in regulation of what turned into a 107-100 Miami Heat overtime victory Sunday at the Rose Garden against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Fouled on the play, Jones converted both free throws to tie it 91-91.

To coach Erik Spoelstra, it was a huge step forward in the team's trust quotient.

"That's a great trust play to dish it to J.J.," Spoelstra said, as his team turned its attention to the third stop on this five-game trip, Wednesday's game at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Clippers. "It's the right play and he stepped up and made both free throws."

"I think everybody in the building thought that that was going to be a forced highlight to Dwyane. And it was a great read to make the right play to J.J."

Jones said that playing with James he knew he had to be ready.

"I was looking at LeBron and with me ahead and Dwyane to the right and the guy shading to Dwyane before he even got the ball, I was expecting it," Jones said. "At that point, with LeBron such a great player, you have to expect it to come, because at the last second he can throw it to D-Wade, at the last second he could take a shot."

There was one disappointment for Jones with the play.

"I was hoping I could have gotten a shot off and made it a three-point play," he said.

Just being able to run a break with James and Wade was ample satisfaction.

"It's something you cherish," he said, "because every player doesn't get an opportunity to be in that situation."



(sun-sentinel.com)