The King quiets the doubters with Game 2 heroics

LeBron James keeps adding to Nike’s simple four-word ad campaign highlighted by a gigantic billboard in downtown Cleveland.

James made the billboard come to life at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night.

“The Chosen One” — how much more true could that be for his hungry hometown? — made 20,562 fans at The Q lose their minds with a series-changing, game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals at 1-1.

But it didn’t come without a scare.

Hedo Turkoglu continued to shoot well and delivered a go-ahead jumper from inside the foul line with a second to play.

TNT’s shot of a little boy in a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey standing at courtside with his hands on his head in disbelief represented another generation of Clevelanders being groomed to watch heartbreak after heartbreak unfold.

Turkoglu made one mistake, however. He left time on the clock.

James, just 24 years old, has heard the rumblings that he’s not a big shot maker — and even taker. That was certainly the talk after Game 1, despite a 20-of-30 shooting performance and a career playoff-high 49 points, when James passed the ball down the stretch. It’s funny how people will find any little bit of a “flaw” to bring down a man that has done more at this stage of his career than any person to ever play the game of basketball.

Yes, that was directed at you Lakers fans and Kobe Bryant apologists.

But then, with one shot that will be forever replayed long after the Akron-native finishes his career, James added to his growing legacy and may have rewritten one for the city of Cleveland.

“The Shot” suddenly was given a new connotation.

This time, No. 23 was playing Cleveland’s hero.

We are definitely all witnesses.