The King passes AC

The following conversation took place on Fox Sports Ohio, from just after LeBron James was fouled in the closing seconds of tonight's game against the New Jersey Nets, through the time-out that followed his foul shots. The second make pulled the Cavaliers within one, at 99-98, after they came back from 19 points down in the third quarter. It also put James at second on the Cavs' all-time scoring list, passing Fox Sports Ohio color commentator Austin Carr.

And by the way, whoever invented the digital video recorder, I'd like to buy you a beer. OK, here we go:

Fred McLeod: And that stops the clock with 16.7 to go.

Austin Carr: Cavaliers coming back in the ballgame, the L-Train turns the corner with that dropped-down shoulder, almost (as the replay is shown) WHOA, second bounce, couldn't get it in. He goes strong to the basket, goes to the line for two shots.

FM: Looking for points 40 and 41. Here comes the first. ... Got it.

AC: Good shot.

FM: So now to pass AC in Cavaliers scoring annals, and more significantly, to draw them within one. ... He's got 41.

AC: All right! The L-Train, number-two all-time Cavaliers scorer. Congratulations, LeBron!

FM: But he'd trade it in, that's for sure, if he can pick up a W, somehow, some way. As LeBron James, now 124 away from passing Brad Daugherty, taking over all time ... (as a clip montage of Austin Carr is shown) Once upon a time, 34 out of Notre Dame, a prolific scorer, especially before the knee injuries -- we all thought, of course, you were going to set scoring marks that would never be broken as a Cavalier, and LeBron has come along in less than five full years to move into the number-two spot, and soon will pass Brad Daugherty.

AC: Well, you know, I've been approached about seven times today about this particular moment, and you know, records are made to be broken, and if I'm going to be in a Fab Five, I'd rather go and be in LeBron's Fab Five, and so far I'm number three now, so that's a good situation, but I congratulate LeBron. LeBron's ceiling is going to be, I think, 30,000 or more. He's got a long way to go. The young man is a great player and a great person. That, to me, makes me feel good that I'm in that company.

FM: And he does it in 374 games.

AC: Wow.

FM: Compared to 635 for you. You know, hey, it's a different era, obviously, but you're talking about a once-in-a-generation kind of talent.

AC: Well, you talk about scoring, and the kind of talent LeBron is, and when I came to the league that I was projected to be, 10,000's not a lot of points. You know, so, you know, I'm looking at LeBron around the 30 mark, I mean, (as a graphic flashes that says "King surpasses AC for 2nd in all-time scoring" and "All-time leader: Brad Daugherty (10,389)," accompanied by a table showing LeBron's 10,266 vs. Carr's 10,265) but you see how many games, only 375, the young man is just awesome. I mean, so all I can say, is, take my hat off to LeBron and say, right on.

FM: So Brad Daugherty next, but up next right now: this possession by the Nets.

AC: Exactly.

FM: Nachbar on the inbound ...

I took the trouble of transcribing that because it's not very often you get to hear a former player comment about being passed on some all-time list at the exact same time as it's happening, and while Austin Carr is not the world's most silver-tongued speaker, he's an all-time Cavalier great, and he has been one of my main recent influences in composing run-on sentences, particularly as regards basketball, as played by the Cleveland Cavaliers, for whom LeBron James is the star.

(Just teasing, AC, if by some chance you're reading this. You have a tough job, and you do it pretty well.)

The Cavs failed to complete the comeback, losing 104-99 -- and the great thing about LeBron James is that he cares a lot more about that than he does about passing Austin Carr.

My quick armchair analysis on the game: We missed big men Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, both of whom are out with back trouble. Sasha came back in this game, but he didn't contribute much; and the Cavs were sloppy with the ball throughout. The Nets are not a good team, and we should have been able to beat them.