BAE Index, 5/3/16: LeBron James had himself a night

Welcome to the BAE Index. 

LeBron James: still good at passing

LeBron James is good at many things, though his passing may be what separates him most from others at his position. Guys built like Karl Malone aren’t supposed to have John Stockton’s floor vision, but LeBron is an exception to just about every conventional basketball thought. King James finished the Cavs’ Game One win over the Hawks with 25 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals, though no assist was more beautiful than this bounce pass to Richard Jefferson on the break:

(h/t @TheCauldron)

Stay out of Kevin Durant’s way

Speaking of players that defy traditional wisdom, it’s often easy to forget that Kevin Durant is a seven-footer masquerading as a small forward. When he finds himself with the ball in the open court, there’s really no reason to bother trying to defend him, because a dunk is inevitable. KD had just been called for a dubious offensive foul on one end, and apparently decided to take his anger out on the rim after coming up with the steal:

(via @BBALLBREAKDOWN)

LeBron James: also good at dunking

While the above flush from Kevin Durant contained plenty of ferocity, you’d be hard-pressed to find a player in the league that #yams with more gusto than LeBron James. Well, maybe Russell Westbrook, but LBJ is a close second. On this play, James takes the bullet pass from Kyrie Irving and finishes with the majestic, high-flying one-hander:

(h/t @BBALLBREAKDOWN)

Paul Millsap swatted Kevin Love’s layup attempt

Apparently, Kevin Love wanted no part of tonight’s lengthy dunk highlight reel. The Cavs big man was alone on the break with nobody in front of him after LeBron finds him with a gorgeous full-court outlet pass, and evidently thought he could get away with a simple layup. Kevin, you’re 6’10”. You need to be dunking this. Love’s decision proved costly, as Paul Millsap came flying in from out of nowhere to send Love’s weak shot back:

(via @BBALLBREAKDOWN)

Steven Adams brings down the hammer

It seems as though the demolition they endured at the hands of the Spurs in Game One of their series helped wake the Thunder up. OKC led San Antonio 56-53 at the half of Game Two, thanks in large part to a solid 8-point, 8-rebound effort from Steven Adams. Three of Adams’s four first half buckets were dunks, though the best of the crop has to be this soaring effort over the top of LaMarcus Aldridge. Bonus points to Russell Westbrook for the excellent feed:

(via @BleacherReport)

Tony Parker’s assist may have topped LeBron’s

The Spurs lost to the Thunder tonight (IN CRAZY FASHION), but you can’t blame LaMarcus Aldridge. The first-year Spur had his second consecutive insane offensive game, finishing with 41 points on blistering 15-for-21 shooting from the field. He even hit a three for the second straight game after going 0-for-16 from deep during the regular season.

The real highlight on this play was Tony Parker’s assist, though. He spins right past Steven Adams, jumps under Serge Ibaka’s challenge and delivers a spot-on, no-look bounce pass to a waiting Aldridge at the top of the key. LMA drilled the ensuing three-ball:

(via @cjzero)