http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/features/recap-warriors7-160619
Wrap-Up -- Two summers ago, a wise young man wrote: “In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned.”
But even
he couldn’t have imagined his hometown team would have earned everything
this way.
In a series that featured alternating blowouts, Sunday’s Game 7 in Oakland was a white-knuckle affair from the opening tip – and in the end, the Cavaliers triumphantly etched their names into the history books, becoming the first team in NBA history to win a Championship after trailing a series, 3-1, and more importantly, bringing a title to the city of Cleveland after a half-century of heartache.
For the second straight season, LeBron James – who returned to Cleveland for this very reason – was absolutely brilliant. But this year, he was on the winning end and when the smoke cleared on the series, he was named the unanimous MVP.
James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 boards and 8.9 assists in the series, but he saved his best for last – notching the 16th postseason triple-double of his prolific career, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
LeBron scored 11 of his 27 in the fourth quarter – drilling three free throws to get the Wine and Gold to within a point, 87-86, with 5:24 to play. And his three-pointer following a Steph Curry turnover put Cleveland up a deuce.
Klay Thompson tied the game at 89-apiece on Golden State’s next possession with 4:39 to play. But those would be the last points the 73-win Warriors would score the rest of the way.
The four-time MVP ensured that scoreless stretch with the defensive play of the night.
With 1:55 to play, Andre Iguodala grabbed the rebound off a Kyrie Irving miss and went coast-to-coast for the layup that would’ve given Golden State back the lead. But James sprinted from the opposite corner of the offensive end in hot pursuit and pinned Iguodala’s attempt on the glass.
Two possessions later, Kyrie Irving – who was almost as deadly as James throughout the Finals – jab-stepped and splashed home the game-winning three-pointer over Curry with 53 seconds to go, giving the Cavaliers all the room they’d need make history.
LeBron split a pair of free throws after taking a hard spill on a dunk attempt to put Cleveland up four with 10.6 to play. And the Warriors fittingly missed a pair of three-pointers in the closing seconds – relinquishing the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the squad they seemingly had buried six days earlier.
After the game, James ran off a litany of Cleveland sports heartaches before turning his attention to the fans that packed the streets of downtown on Sunday night and will be waiting with baited breath for his arrival home.
”Our fans, they ride or die, no matter what's been going on, no matter the Browns, the Indians, the Cavs and so on, and all other sports teams,” smiled the 12-time All-Star. “They continue to support us. And for us to be able to end this, end this drought, our fans deserve it. They deserve it. And it was for them.”
Kyrie turned in yet another outstanding performance on Sunday,
Including his game-winning triple, Irving tallied 26 points – scoring 12 of those points in the third quarter and going 10-for-23 from the floor overall, including 2-of-5 from long-range, adding six boards, a steal and a blocked shot.
”It was 89-89 for a good portion of the game, especially in that fourth quarter, so I was just thinking the next team that scores has a great chance at winning the Championship,” smiled Irving. “And I hope that we can be the team that's on that end.”
The only other Cavalier in double-figures was J.R. Smith, who finished with 12 points to go with four boards, a pair of helpers and a steal.
Kevin Love didn’t have a big offensive night, but led both squads with 14 boards to go with nine points.
Despite outplaying the Warriors in the first 24 minutes, the Cavaliers still trailed by seven at intermission – going just 1-for-14 from beyond the arc while Golden State drilled 10 triples.
But Cleveland began the second half on a 12-5 run to tie the game less than three minutes into the second stanza. Both teams traded runs in the period – with the Cavaliers taking a seven-point edge before the Warriors closed the quarter on a 13-5 run to take a one-point lead into the fourth.
Draymond Green led both teams with 32 points and 15 boards, but he notched 22 of his 32 before intermission as LeBron locked down on the mercurial forward over the final 24 minutes.
Golden State’s Splash Brothers combined for just 31 points in Game 7 – combining to go 12-for-29 from the floor, including just 6-of-24 from long-range. Curry committed a team-high four turnovers, including an ill-timed behind-the-back pass that led to LeBron’s triple that allowed Cleveland to take the lead after trailing by four less than a minute earlier.
The Cavaliers shot 40 percent on the night, including 24 percent from deep. But they were 21-of-25 from the stripe. The Warriors canned 15 triples on the night, but shot just 39 percent from the floor overall and attempted just 13 free throws on the night.
The Cavaliers topped Golden State on the boards, 48-39, while outscoring them in the paint, 48-28, on the break, 18-7, and on second-chance opportunities, 17-6.
The Wine and Gold held the Warriors to just 11 points in the first quarter of their Game 6 win in Cleveland last Thursday and bookended their defensive mastery in the Finals by holding the league’s highest-scoring squad to just 13 points in the final period of Game 7.
Turning Point -- There’s that moment in any game against the Warriors where it looks like they’re about to blow it open. And with just over two minutes to play in the first half, it looked like that was about to happen – with Draymond Green scoring on an and-1 followed by Leandro Barbosa’s triple to put the high-octane Warriors up a touchdown, working their crowd into a frenzy.
But the Cavaliers stopped the bleeding on Iman Shumpert’s two free throws and went into the locker room within striking distance.
And they struck immediately after intermission – tying the contest early in the second half and setting up the thrilling finish that gave the city of Cleveland its first Championship since 1964.
By the Numbers –
14, 12 … blocked shots and steals that LeBron James tallied over the final four games of the 2016 Finals.
Quotable –
J.R. Smith, in an emotional postgame moment speaking on his family’s influence …
”My dad is easily one of my biggest inspirations to play this game. To hear people talk bad about me, it hurts me because I know it hurts him, and that's not who I am. And I know he raised me better, and I know I want to do better. Just everything I do is for my parents and my family. I mean, I don't really -- the cars are nice, the houses are nice, but none of this matters without them. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. I don't know where I would be, honestly. If it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for the structure and the backbone that I have, I wouldn't be able to mess up and keep coming back and being able to sit in front of you as a World Champion.”
Up Next – A parade on Wednesday.
; again stop saying shit that doesnt make sense; stop with this steph playing bad last year; if you dont like that fact that he got the award just say it; but please come with a different dynamic as to why that is....
