LeBron earns redemption with Finals berth

CHICAGO – Forget the hate.

Never mind The Decision.

LeBron James, for better or worse, has returned to the NBA Finals with a more formidable team and a fiercer personal mettle than the last time he came so close to the championship he craves.

On Thursday, in the Heat's 83-80 comeback win to clinch a trip to the NBA Finals, we saw LeBron James for all that he is now: Clutch as the pressure rises. Ready to be whatever he must. And – regardless of your take on his exit from Cleveland or your read of his flaws or virtues – a man who has earned the right to move past the ridicule.

This is America, where winners rule the day. And right now, LeBron James is a winner of the highest order.

"I never lost confidence in my ability," LeBron said. "I know what I'm capable of."

The final test waits ahead, and it will not be easy. Dallas, like Miami, is a championship-caliber team hitting its stride at the right moment.

But a ring is no longer the rule for LeBron's redemption. What he did in this Eastern Conference finals series should do the trick.

LeBron carried a Heat team saddled with a diminished version of Dwyane Wade and beat the Bulls, the team with the NBA's best record, four straight times after a Game 1 loss. His 28-point, 11-rebound and six-assist outing Thursday night was the latest example.

All series, LeBron shut down Derrick Rose, the league MVP and the Bulls' singular offensive engine, with stunning defense. He took over games, including scoring 12 fourth-quarter points in Thursday's incredible comeback from a 12-point deficit in the final minutes.

Again and again, in Game 5 and the games that preceded it, he has hit big shot after big shot. With 2:07 left Thursday, he drained a 3-pointer to cut Chicago's lead to five. With 61 seconds to go, he stroked another 3 to tie it. Then, 30 seconds later, he calmly sank a 20-footer to give his team the lead.

He was – he simply is – incredible.

What we saw Thursday night is LeBron James fortified by all these things: his past failures, his arrogance, his hunger, his place as a leader and teammate, the world's hate and his own doubts and the pressing question of whether he'd chosen correctly last summer.

Even his last words before leaving his postgame news conference again revealed the forces that have shaped him: "We've got a month left of the continuation of hate," he said.

It is that adversity-tested LeBron who helped the Heat close a 12-point deficit with less than four minutes left and a seven-point deficit with 1:46 left.

It was then, after Derrick Rose hit a tough shot to give Chicago a 79-72 lead, that the Heat went on an incredible 29-second, 7-0 run in only two possessions. Wade notched a remarkable four-point play. But it was the steel LeBron flashed in the face of the big moment that brought it all home, from his tying 3-pointer to a steal against Rose that set up his go-ahead basket to the final block on Rose's last shot that denied the Bulls a shot at overtime.

"We know how bad he wants to be in this situation," said Chris Bosh, who added 20 points and 10 rebounds of his own. "He's back in the Finals, he's been here before. He has that pain. He carries that pain (of coming up short) with him everywhere he goes."

And one year after bringing on a barrage of hate and anger, he will carry it along with his teammates to the place he swore they'd go: one last series to try and become champions.

It wasn't easy. Wade had another off night, despite his 10 fourth-quarter points. He turned the ball over nine times, shot 6 of 13 and continued his general malaise.

"It's not the first time in my life I've struggled," Wade said. "I wanted to play great. It just wasn't in the cards for me to do that."

To be sure, other Heat players rose to fill that void. Bosh had another outstanding game. Mike Miller scored seven points and had six rebounds, almost all of them coming at key moments. Udonis Haslem pitched in some rebounds and key minutes and Joel Anthony blocked two shots and made himself again an under-heralded defensive force.

But it was LeBron who played, yes, like a Chosen One.

After what he accomplished in Games 2-5, things must change.

The criticism for LeBron and his team now must be leavened with a fair amount of praise and acknowledgement. It may not taste good to those outside South Florida, but reality rarely does for those who would rather not have it.

Take Joakim Noah's comment after the game: "You have to give credit where credit is due. They are Hollywood as hell, but they are good."

Call them Hollywood. Or Arrogant. Call LeBron a traitor, or Wade a whiner, or the Heat a collection of mercenaries who schemed for this moment.

It's all hollow now, and whether it is true or not doesn't matter. Because Noah has the heart of it.

They are good. They are great.

Arrogance is not so bad when it's earned. Hollywood has produced its own share of NBA champions. And one man's traitor or whiner is another's hero or defender.

This is true, too: LeBron has been arrogant, and that arrogance has made him strong.

He's been a little Hollywood, and that flash and fun (like when he beat Erick Dampier in a 3-point contest Thursday morning 11-10, and hooted and hollered and giggled the whole time) has helped him bond with his team and get comfortable in a very uncomfortable spot.

He is no traitor, not to the team he chose to link up with. I've dished out my own fair share of criticism at the man but I've pointed out these things, too: He bonded truly with his young head coach. He found a selfless link with co-star Wade. He grew as a player and matured under the fire.

There are things to dislike in LeBron, as there are in all of us. There are things to like. And after Thursday's performance, there are things that must be said – credit that must be given.

LeBron is a complicated, talented, gifted, controversial basketball player. He's also a winner. And regardless of how he went about it, he made the right choice when he took his talents to South Beach.

All of these things played out in stark relief Thursday.

For LeBron James, the future is right now.

The rings will come, whether in this upcoming series against Dallas or else in the years ahead.

For now, this is enough: LeBron James has reached his incredible potential. And that means he, his team and the league aren't going to be the same.

You can follow Bill Reiter on Twitter.