Cavs' Jarrett Allen Roasts His LeBron-Esque Breakaway Dunk in Big Win vs. Knicks

You're your own worst critic!
Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen on April 2, 2025.
Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen on April 2, 2025. / NBA / X / Screensho
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The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, overcoming a seven-point deficit at the half to secure a decisive 124–105 win by the end.

Of the Cavs' five starters—four of which had 10+ points in the game—it was center Jarrett Allen and guard Donovan Mitchell who mostly led the way, with Allen dropping 21 points and 8 rebounds to pair with Mitchell's 27/6/5.

At one point toward the end of the fourth quarter, Allen broke free with the ball and leapt up for what he hoped would be an electric dunk, further extending Cleveland's lead.

As for his inspiration for the move, well, that would be none other than Cavs legend and breakaway dunk connoisseur LeBron James.

"Honestly, I was telling them, I wanted to look like 'Bron," Allen admitted with a smile after the game, "trying to bring it back. I looked at the replay—nothing close."

Watch that below:

Okay, maybe not quite the full extension we’ve seen in the past from LeBron, but hey, the ball went in. It still looked great!. We're sure LeBron would appreciate the homage.

With Cleveland up and Boston down after losing to Miami, the Cavs now boast a five-game lead for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with six games left on the schedule.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.