If LeBron James didn't have a historic Game 6 in Boston, Pat Riley might've broken up Miami's big three: 'My legacy is going to take a huge hit'

The Boston Celtics were 36-2 all-time when leading a series 3-2 in 2012. In the same year's Playoffs, they were 8-1 at home. Since the 2007-08 season, they were 9-2 in series-clinching home games.

The Miami Heat, meanwhile, were just 1-6 all-time in the postseason in Boston. In the 2012 playoffs, they were just 3-4 on the road.

To say that the odds were stacked against LeBron James entering Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals would be a frowning understatement. It was win or go home. Either the historic trio of James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh would live to see another day—or perhaps be playing in their final game together.

A man on a mission

James' first shot of the game was a wide-open right-wing midrange jumper that hit the front iron. Two Heat possessions later, he failed to even touch the ball. With a start like that, it certainly didn't feel like No. 6 would go into a zone he hadn't experienced in his nine years in the NBA at that point.

But with just under three minutes gone by in the game, LeBron exploded past Paul Pierce and threw down a powerful slam. From there, he never looked back.

While this game meant that Miami's season was on the line, there was a lot more operating in the back of James' mind, especially his future with Bosh and Wade as his teammates with the Heat.

"My mentality was if we lose, [Heat president] Pat Riley may break us all up. And I [didn't] want that," LBJ said in an Instagram Live in 2020. "It might be the quickest breakup in basketball history."

Whether the Heat seriously considered starting over had Boston won the series was unknown. What did happen, however, was rampant speculation about the team's future with its superstars leading up to Game 6.

Pierce's left-wing 3-pointer in the face of LeBron with less than a minute left in Game 5 felt like a backbreaker for the Heat. It opened the door for a third consecutive loss after James and Co. were up 2-0.

The saving grace

After converting an off-balance shot on the left baseline to give him six first-quarter points with still several minutes to play in the first frame, the six-foot-nine locomotive charged down the court absorbed the contact from Celtics big man Greg Stiemsma and twirled in an and-1 layup.

As he walked to the free throw line for a 3-point opportunity, the steely-eyed James looked ready to bridge the gap between him and every other player in the arena.

"Not only might they break it all up, but my legacy is going to take a huge, huge hit if I don't go out here and perform at an all-time high," LBJ said.

A 3-pointer on the following possession had LeBron scoring 12 of the last 16 Heat points, pushing Miami to a 10-0 run. Despite zero points scored by Wade in the first quarter, the Heat led by double digits after the first 12 minutes, and it was clear that it would be LeBron's night.

The superstar forward had 30 points by halftime, taking whatever momentum Boston had entering the contest and completely crushing it.

"James has an every-night pressure that no one has," said Jeff Van Gundy on the ESPN broadcast.

Despite averaging 31.8 points and 10.0 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the floor entering Game 6, many in the basketball universe were prepared to spill the blame on the "King" if his team suffered elimination. Those numbers are wicked today, much less 12 years ago when he was the only player with that kind of numbers in the postseason.

In the end, the then-27-year-old superstar responded to immense pressure by pouring in 45 points and single-handedly preventing the Celtics from grasping any kind of momentum.

More than a decade later, this moment remains one of the signature performances of his storied career and one that gave life to a dominating run throughout the 2010s.