Williams has been taking extra shooting practice this series, arriving at the gym early on the mornings of games to work on his accuracy. He has not been pressing, he said. He "just wanted to perform well so bad."

The practice paid off in the Cavaliers' 112-102 Game 5 victory as Williams knocked in 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting - six of which came from 3-point range. He helped boost Cleveland's 3-point accuracy to 50 percent when his 6-of-9 long distance shooting combined with Daniel Gibson's 3-of-4.

"I hit some of the same shots that I've been missing," Williams said. "I got my confidence."

It's the confident Williams the Cavaliers have been searching for throughout this series, the Robin to LeBron James' Batman who was such a consistent shooting threat all season, but who had been hitting just 32 percent of his field goals and 22 percent from 3-point range in the first four games of this series.

And it was the Williams the Cavaliers needed for a multilayered offensive attack that does not rely strictly on James.

"We have to try to keep the defense honest," Williams said.

Williams' shot was falling from the start as he knocked in three 3-pointers and a layup within the first five minutes of the game. He had 11 points in helping Cleveland jump to a 32-10 advantage by the end of the first quarter.

"His energy, his mental awareness was terrific running the ballclub the entire game," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "With the way they're going to pay attention to LeBron, guys are going to get good looks. We've got to step in and shoot it with confidence."

And confidence in himself is something Williams has finally found.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654